Evening News Update for May 18th 2020
NANAIMO—British Columbia continues to bend the curve of COVID-19 with no new outbreaks, fewer new cases and hospitalizations and more recoveries. However, 2 people died from the virus over the weekend, bringing the total number of death to 143. Both deaths were in long term care homes on the lower mainland. There were 16 new cases reported in the province over the weekend, but none in the Island Health region. Most people have recovered, but 335 people in BC continue to suffer from COVID-19, with one in hospital in our health region.
The Provincial Health officer says if the numbers continue to show improvement, she intends to relax visiting restrictions at long term and assisted living facilities. Dr. Bonnie Henry says some sites may allow one family visitor per resident as early as June. She says the challenge is to find ways to ensure staff and other residents are kept safe. Henry says there may be different rules depending on how many people share rooms and the size of the facility.
Meanwhile, BC's Health officer is calling on seniors and people from different ethnic groups to take part in the COVID-19 survey by the BC Centre for Disease Control. Dr. Bonnie Henry says their participation will help to measure social determinants of health. More than 260,000 people have taken the survey since its launch last week. You can find the questionnaire on the BCCDC website.
Naloxone Kit are used to revive overdose victims at harm reduction sites / via Jeff Anderson
(CC BY 2.0)
New data from the BC Centre for Disease Control show there were more overdose deaths and fewer visits to overdose prevention sites in March, compared to February. 113 people died from overdoses in BC in March, a 61 per cent monthly increase. At the same time, there were just over 7,000 fewer visits to overdose prevention and safe consumption sites, a 19 per cent drop in March compared to February. In the Island Health region, 18 people died from overdoses in March, twice as many as in February. Some overdose prevention sites temporarily closed or reduced their hours at the start of the pandemic. Dr. Bonnie Henry says strategies to address the overdose crisis during COVID-19 include mobile overdose prevention services and apps for remote monitoring of people who are using alone. She says it has been a challenge in some jurisdictions to implement guidelines for "making sure that people who use drugs are able to access safe, regulated, pharmaceutical alternatives to what we know is an incredibly toxic street supply.”
The Minister of Health says statistics from BC Ferries show most people did stay closer to home on the long weekend. Adrian Dix says ferry traffic was just one-fifth of the typical number on long weekends in previous years. He says traffic to the Gulf Islands was 27 per cent of volumes compared to the long weekend in 2018. Meanwhile, conservation officers and RCMP members set up at least two checkpoints on Vancouver Island last weekend, looking for travellers who may have been planning overnight camping. There is no word yet on how many people were stopped or whether any infraction tickets were issued.
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