Skip to content

COVID-19 death toll reaches 50 in B.C., while daily case count steadies

B.C. records 34 new cases in the province, bringing total active confirmed cases to 462
21231385_web1_23051837
Specimens to be tested for COVID-19 are seen in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

B.C. has reached a grim milestone in the battle against COVID-19, recording the province’s 49th and 50th fatalities due to the novel coronavirus as of Thursday (April 9).

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 34 new confirmed cases in the province during a news conference in Victoria, bringing the total number of active confirmed cases to 462.

Of those fighting the virus, which has no cure nor vaccine, 132 people are in hospital and 68 are in intensive care.

Meanwhile, 858 of the 1,370 people who have been hit with COVID-19 have fully recovered. On Thursday, Canada surpassed 20,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

In B.C., there have been 235 cases linked to long-term care homes in B.C., Henry said, including 143 residents and 92 staff members. Of those total cases, 30 people have died.

Henry announced one piece of good news Thursday: one of the 21 care homes dealing with an outbreak has now been cleared.

Henry said that a provincial health order which made it possible for care workers to stick to one care home during this pandemic has now been officially implemented following weeks of tricky logistics and negotiations.

“It’s really a matter of understanding where the problem was,” Henry said, adding that the changes involved consulting more than 20,000 employees – both within private and public care homes. Care homes dealing with current outbreaks were priority.

“To understand people’s preferences was another part of it,” she said. “There was a lot of negotiations but what we didn’t want was that people went to one or two places and care homes were left without staff.”

READ MORE: B.C.’s COVID-19 rent supplement starts taking applications

READ MORE: B.C. unveils $5M for mental health supports during the COVID-19 pandemic

More to come.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
Read more