There are now 117,080 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C. after health officials announced 1,005 new cases Friday.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there have been 259 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 536 in the Fraser Health region, 49 in the Island Health region, 110 in the Interior Health region, 51 in the Northern Health Region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
There are currently 5,739 cases of COVID-19 that are confirmed variants of concern in our province. Of the total cases, 212 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 3,858 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 71 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 1,810 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.
There have been six new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,530 deaths in British Columbia.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 425 individuals are hospitalized, 127 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
"In B.C., 1,282,091 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, 87,970 of which are second doses," said Henry.
There are 10,081 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 15,877 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 105,291 people who tested positive have recovered.
Henry adds that “Spending time outside is important for our physical and mental well-being. But we have to remember that while being outside with others is much lower risk than being inside, it is not without risk.
“Even if we are outside, we need to stay small and continue to use our layers of protection. This means keeping a safe distance and wearing masks, especially if someone is higher risk for serious illness.
“Be purposeful about who you are seeing and where you are going, and stick with the same close contacts."
Indoor dining restrictions to be extended across B.C. due to surging COVID-19 cases
Restrictions to indoor dining across British Columbia are expected to be extended into May, according to an industry update newsletter from the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA).
Tuesday (April 13) afternoon the BCRFA, Restaurants Canada and the Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC) had a meeting with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in regards to the current provincial health order, which prohibits in-restaurant dining.
"Our conversation has indicated that the current PHO order restricting in-restaurant dining will be extended beyond April 19th through to May," explains a statement from the BCRFA. "This is a result of the continued high number of daily cases and the Province's goal to have restrictions in place that avoid socialization and gathering indoors, for now."
The BCRFA also mentions that they expressed frustration with inconsistency and confusion in regards to patios. As a result, the organization said they would be working closely with officials "on a patio guidelines document which will better outline the requirements for patios and provide clarity for [the] industry."
