COVID Count slows, but vaccine delays make for more challenges in British Columbia

The pace of COVID reports slowed today with the province recording just slightly more than 1,000 cases for the final report of the week. 

Though as the pace slowed so to has the distribution of the Moderna vaccine to Canada and British Columbia, making for a challenge for British Columbia health professionals to deliver the provincial vaccination program in the short term.

The statements for the day both came by way of the provincial website. 

“Today, we are reporting 1,005 new cases, for a total of 117,080 cases in British Columbia. 

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. “Of the active cases, 425 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 127 of whom are in intensive care.

The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

There have been six new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,530 deaths in British Columbia."

Across the province, the Regional Health Authority's provided the following numbers of reported cases for the day:  259 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 536 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 49 in the Island Health region, 110 in the Interior Health region,

There were 51 cases recorded in the Northern Health region bringing the total number of cases in the North to 6,738 since January 2020. 

There were no new cases of COVID recorded by people in British Columbia who reside outside of Canada. 

The review of the variants reported in the province noted that 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. 

Today's vaccinations brought the provincial totals to 1,282,091 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, 87,970 of which are second doses.

In a separate statement, Health Minister Dix addressed the news today of a delay in shipments of the Moderna vaccine which will have an impact on the provincial vaccination program.

“The delay in Moderna's shipments is disappointing. The sooner we get vaccines in people's arms, the better, and inconsistency in delivery is a consistent problem. This is simply a reality and not an issue of blame. “That said, the federal government has said it will send additional doses of Pfizer in May and June. Doses in April would be more helpful, but we appreciate the ongoing effort and commitment of the federal government."

Minster Dix's notes can be explored further here.

Doctor Henry also put some focus on how British Columbians can stay safe and manage their risk in these times of Higher case counts and concerns over variants.

“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. 

If you choose to see a close friend for brunch on a patio, then make sure it is the same friend every time. If you decide to have a barbecue in your backyard, then keep to your roommates or family only. Or, if you visit your neighbourhood park with another family, then make it with only one other family and do activities that allow everyone to keep a safe distance from each other. 

It is easy to look for loopholes, but rather let’s look for how we can keep each other safe."

The full COVID statement for Friday  can be reviewed here. 

BC CDC data for British Columbia for April 16 2021

BC CDC data for the Northern Health Region for April 16 2021

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.   

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints