Evening News Update for May 14 2020

Health Minister Adrian Dix and Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry / via Province of BC Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

NANAIMO—Three more people have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing BC's fatality count to 135. All were in the Fraser Health Region. However, there is some good news for that hard-hit health region. The Superior Poultry processing plant in Coquitlam has now reopened. It was closed three weeks ago. 60 cases of the virus were linked to that plant. Outbreaks at three long term care facilities in the Fraser Region are now declared over, as well as the outbreak at the Worthington Pavilion Rehabilitation Unit in Abbotsford. However, outbreaks continue at 15 other longterm and assisted care facilities along with three acute care units, all on the lower mainland.

Across the province, there are 15 new cases of the virus confirmed in the past 24 hours, including one in Island Health. There are 372 active cases of COVID-19 in BC, with just five in our health region. One person remains in hospital here. Those statistics are why Island Health has continued to open up more acute and critical care beds in its hospitals. The Minister of Health says Island Health has a higher than 67 per cent occupancy rate at its hospitals, and it is seeing more visits to its emergency rooms. Adrian Dix believes it is because people in the Island Health region have less fear about going to the hospital because our infection rates are among the lowest in the province. He says close to 1200 people who had their surgeries cancelled in the Island Health region have been contacted to set new dates for those surgeries. 4,000 surgeries were cancelled in this region after the pandemic was declared.

While many businesses in BC are preparing to re-open starting next week, that will not be the case for dentists. The BC Dental Association has not set a date for its members to reopen their offices. It says access to personal protection equipment is a concern. The Association says it is continuing to work on guidelines with WorkSafe BC and the Provincial Health Officer. Currently, only emergency dental work is being done by a handful of dentists in BC.

The Provincial Health Officer says she is keeping a close eye on reports of a serious childhood illness that may be triggered by COVID-19. Reports out of Italy, New York City and Montreal say they have seen Kawasaki syndrome in some children who have tested positive for COVID-19. Kawasaki disease is a genetic predisposition, triggered by various viral infections. It causes inflammation and irreversible heart damage if not diagnosed within four days. Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have been no cases of Kawasaki syndrome in BC. "It is very rare," she says, "and pediatricians and clinicians know what to look for."

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Lisa Cordasco

Senior Reporter and News Director — Lisa is responsible for creating the station's first morning news current affairs show on CHLY. She is also deeply involved in training and mentoring student and citizen journalists who volunteer their time at the station. Before joining CHLY, Lisa spent 35 years in various roles at CBC Radio, from host to reporter. Her passion for journalism and radio has led her to Nanaimo, where she intends to provide CHLY listeners with news they can use, in an alternative radio environment. Her other not-so-secret passion is costuming for any occasion.

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