What you need to know about COVID-19 in B.C. on April 25, 2020
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 95 new cases on Saturday
THE LATEST:
- There are 95 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia.
- On Saturday afternoon, the province confirmed a total of 1,948 cases of COVID-19.
- There have been two new deaths for a total of 100 provincewide.
- Forty of the new cases are linked to the federally-run Mission Institution — 106 inmates and 12 staff members have COVID-19.
- There are 16 new cases at Superior Poultry, a processing plant in Coquitlam and 11 new cases linked to an outbreak at a work site in Kearl Lake, Alta.
- The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital did not change Saturday. There are 96.
- Forty-one people are in critical care.
- The number of people who have recovered from the disease sits at 1,137.
- The province will break up tent city encampments in Vancouver and Victoria to move people into hotel rooms.
B.C. has seen another week of steadily falling hospitalization numbers for COVID-19, but new community outbreaks continue to pop up.
On Saturday, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 95 new cases, with 40 of them linked to the Mission Institution — where 106 inmates and 12 staff are sick — and 16 new cases at a Superior Poultry chicken processing plant in Coquitlam.
The number of patients in hospital remained steady at 96 with 41 people in critical care.
Henry announced two new deaths on Saturday, one of which is the first recorded fatality linked to a First Nations community in the province. Henry described the death of a First Nations elder as a tragedy.
To date, 100 people in B.C. have died of the disease. The province has confirmed 1,948 cases, of which 1,137 have fully recovered.
The last week has seen new outbreaks at two poultry processing plants in Metro Vancouver, along with two additional acute care units, for a total of three active hospital outbreaks. At the same time, there are active outbreaks at 20 long-term care homes.
No new outbreaks at long-term care homes were announced Saturday. Dr. Bonnie Henry said an outbreak had ended at one facility. A total of 11 facilities that experienced outbreaks have put an end to them.
There were 11 new cases linked to an outbreak at the Kearl Lake oilsands project in northern Alberta, for a total of 21 cases.
Also on Saturday, the province announced plans to break up encampments in Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park, along with Victoria's Topaz Park and Pandora corridor to move people at those sites to hotels where they will be provided services to keep them safer during the pandemic.
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Top stories today
- B.C. is enacting a public safety order to move homeless people living in tent city encampments into hotels in Vancouver and Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- "Be kind, be calm and be safe" is more than just a catchphrase in B.C.'s COVID-19 fight.
- B.C. has enacted order to move tent city residents in Vancouver and Victoria into hotels.
- An emergency room doctor who had feared a flood of non-symptomatic COVID-19 patients says they don't seem to be out there.
- University students across Canada are demanding lower fees and tuition as classes move online.
- People in northern B.C. say the pandemic is particularly challenging for them.
- A 6-year-old boy in Saanich, B.C., has set up a joke stand to make people smile during COVID-19.
Important reminders:
Health officials widely agree the most important thing you can do to prevent coronavirus and other illnesses is to wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face.
The World Health Organization said more than 80 per cent of COVID-19 infections are estimated to be mild.
What's happening elsewhere in Canada
As of Saturday, Canada had 43,888 confirmed COVID-19 cases. A CBC News tally of coronavirus-related deaths, which is based on provincial data, local public health information and CBC reporting, put the death toll at 2,390 in Canada, plus two deaths abroad.
The numbers are not a complete picture, as they don't account for people who haven't been tested, those being investigated as a potential case and people still waiting for test results.
For a look at what's happening across the country and the world, check the CBC interactive case tracker.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Common symptoms include:
- Fever.
- Cough.
- Tiredness.
But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia.
What should I do if I feel sick?
Stay home. Isolate yourself and call your local public health authority or 811. Do not visit an emergency room or urgent care centre to get tested.
Find information about COVID-19 from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Non-medical information about COVID-19 is available in B.C. from 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. PT, seven days a week at 1-888-COVID19 (1-888-268-4319).
What can I do to protect myself?
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Keep them clean.
- Keep at least two metres away from people who are sick.
- When outside the home, keep two metres away from other people.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Masks won't fully protect you from infection, but can help prevent you from infecting others.
More detailed information on the outbreak is available on the federal government's website.
If you have a COVID-19-related story we should pursue that affects British Columbians, please email us at impact@cbc.ca
With files from the Canadian Press