There are now 114,870 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C. after health officials announced 1,168 new cases Wednesday.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there have been 341 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 632 in the Fraser Health region, 64 in the Island Health region, 105 in the Interior Health region, 26 in the Northern Health Region and no new cases from people who resides outside of Canada.
There have been six new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,521 deaths in British Columbia.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 397 individuals are hospitalized, 120 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
“1,190,832 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,820 of which are second doses.," said Henry.
There are 9,821 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 16,304 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 103,360 people who tested positive have recovered.
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."
