B.C. Covid update: 34 new cases; two more deaths

British Columbia is holding it’s own as far as new Covid-19 cases, but the provincial health officer says “we are not over the hump yet.”

Dr. Bonnie Henry said there is 34 new cases in B.C. since Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,370 since the outbreak began.

In the Interior Health region, there are no new cases for a total of 130.

The number of fatalities grew by two to 50, with one death in the Vancouver area and another in Fraser Health.

There are 132 people in hospital with 68 in intensive care.

A total of 858 patients have fully recovered and are no longer in isolation, which means there are 512 active cases in the province.

Dr. Henry said it’s now official that care providers at long term care homes will be able to work at a single site only.

She thanked educators, teachers and assistants that are in classrooms and daycares to help our essential health care and other workers.

Dr. Henry said it’s vital people continue to practice social distancing and hand washing over the long weekend.

“We are not over the hump yet, and we are going to have a bumpy ride for a while. We’re holding our own and keeping it down, but we all need to continue to do this. And going into this long weekend, it’s more important than ever that we keep going, that everything we are doing now, we keep up,” said Henry.

Also with the Easter weekend, British Columbians are asked to avoid all non-essential travel, to stay home and find virtual ways to connect and celebrate with family and friends.

Henry says to “unwind and be kind.”

We’ve been asked to do many things over the last few weeks, so as a reminder:

* Stay home for at least 10 days if you have any symptoms of illness. After 10 days, if your temperature is normal and you feel better, you can return to your routine activities. Coughing may persist for several weeks, so a cough alone does not mean you need to continue to self-isolate for more than 10 days.

* Stay at least two metres (over six feet) away from other people outside your household.

* Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds.

* Avoid touching your face.
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The latest Covid-19 update from British Columbia as of 3 p.m. Thursday, April 9:

New cases: 34

Total cases: 1,370

Cases by health region:

Vancouver Coastal: 626

Fraser Health: 508

Vancouver Island: 82 (increase of 1 from Wednesday)

Interior Health: 130 (no increase from Wednesday)

Northern Health: 24 (increase of 1)

132 people are in hospital with the virus, with 68 of those in critical or intensive care

There have been two more deaths (total of 50), one in Vancouver Coastal and one in Fraser Health

858 people have fully recovered