B.C.’s regional health authorities will be setting up testing centres for the COVID-19 virus in the coming days.
But they want you to know this: People do not need to be tested unless they are sick enough to require health care.
On Saturday, B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry identified nine new cases of the COVID-19 virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 73.
Henry said seven new cases have been confirmed in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, one in the Fraser Health Authority and one presumptive case in Interior Health, which is related to a person travelling to a number of countries in Europe, most recently Portugal.
“Most of the cases announced today are related to the outbreak at the Lynn Valley Care Centre,” said Henry. “We now have four residents who have tested positive and 12 staff who are positive for COVID-19 from the Lynn Valley Care Centre. And Vancouver Coastal continues to monitor all of the staff and residents associated with that facility. We know there is some ongoing testing of others who are starting to show symptoms as well.”
The increase in cases is not a surprise, said Henry.
“When we first recognized the outbreak, it had just been starting so we know people are in that incubation period and there may be more cases that arise in the coming days,” she said.
A second outbreak at Hollyburn House care home has one staff member and one resident who are positive and testing is ongoing, said Henry.
The cluster of cases at Lions Gate Hospital remains at three people, who all work in the administration section of the hospital.
“We have people in all of our health authorities in isolation with COVID-19,” said Henry.
The provincial health officer stressed that B.C. is adapting its testing strategy to focus on active investigations and cluster outbreaks to determine how the virus is spreading in our community.
The focus for testing is on health-care workers and people in hospital and in long-term care homes, said Henry. “And we want to make sure everyone who gets sick gets the testing they need. For everybody else, even if you have mild symptoms or you have no symptoms and you have returned from travel, you don’t need testing,” said Henry.
People do not need to be tested unless they are sick enough to require health care, she said.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said testing health-care workers and those in and around hospitals has to be the priority “for us to be effective in containing and slowing down COVID-19 in B.C.”
“We’re asking people with mild illness to isolate at home and the direction for all people returning to Canada is to isolate at home for 14 days,” said Dix.
Obviously, if people are seriously ill, they need to get medical help, but testing has to be prioritized to reduce the scope of the outbreak, said the health minister.
In the coming days, health authorities will set up testing centres for the virus, said Dix.
The locations of those testing centres will be announced by the regional health authorities themselves, he said.
“We’re waiting for them to be ready so we’re not announcing that something is opening tomorrow or the next day,” he said.
“But it’s important to note that we are priorizing, as we should, to address issues of control and to stop the spread of COVID-19 in B.C. We’re priorizing particular investigations. If you have mild illness at home, the key is to continue to self-isolate at home.
“The concern always is that you announce a centre and people are going to flock to that centre and this priorization is our direction and that means when these centres are open, they are not for people to descend on.”
More than 4,000 tests for the novel coronavirus were done in the past week.
“It has been challenging for sure. The volume of testing went up very dramatically in a short period of time,” said Henry, conceding that there were challenges in the labs. “At the same time, we have increased the capacity at several different labs to do the testing. … So we’re coping, but it’s near the edge.”
Henry made a public appeal for people in B.C. to be measured in their purchases of groceries and other basic necessities. She said it was natural to be concerned and to try to get some control by stocking up.
“I want people to be calm, I want people to be reassured. We’ve been reassured by our retailers that our supply chains are strong. They are restocking the shelves. … We don’t have an issue. I want to assure everyone the supply is there and we need to be measured in our approach and get what we need and not to hoard and not to have anxiety-provoked purchasing,” said Henry.
The doctor encouraged people to go outdoors and spend time with their families, but to do it in small groups.
“We will get through this,” she said. “It’s going to be a challenging time for all of us. But now is the time for working together. It’s a time for compassion. It’s a time for supporting each other.
Dix also asked people to show moderation and generosity to one another and to people working in stores and industry.
There is no shortage of goods, he said.
“What happens on the shelves is the result of intense buying … The supply chains are strong and we have to try as best as possible to revert to normal practices with respect to buying supplies.”
The Ministry of Health is working with universities, encouraging them to hold online or virtual classes, stagger classes or have people sit separately.
“We have advised that all classes must be able to maintain social isolation within those classes and have fewer than 250 people. … I know the universities are working separately on these strategies,” said Henry.
Henry was to attend a meeting Saturday afternoon to decide what to do about children and schools.
Children can spread influenza very efficiently, but this hasn’t been so much the case with children and COVID-19, said Henry.
B.C. has a fair capacity of intensive care beds and ventilators and is getting more, said Henry. The province has a pandemic supply of protective gear and is working to top that up.
Unlike Ontario, B.C. is not experiencing a shortage of test swabs. In fact, B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control has been looking at a different test swab that is normally used for testing sexually transmitted infections.
“So far, it’s looking very good and we have lots of those in the country. So that's something that I think is a really, interesting, good story,” Henry said.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hadju has said that 30 to 70 per cent of Canadians might eventually be infected.
The issue is how fast that happens, said Henry.
“We’re focusing all of our efforts on trying to decrease the amount of transmission we have in the community. That’s why it is so important for people to stay away from long-term care homes, to stay home when they are ill, to self-isolate.”
The next provincial update will be on Monday at 10 a.m.
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ADVICE ON THE VIRUS
COVID-19 symptoms:
• The symptoms of COVID-19 are difficulty breathing, fever and coughing. Severity of symptoms can vary widely from person to person.
If you develop symptoms:
• Isolate yourself from others.
• Phone 811 (the province’s HealthLink line), a health-care professional or the local public health authority. Describe your symptoms and travel history; you will be provided with advice on what to do next.
To protect yourself from infection:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least
20 seconds.
• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Don’t touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Don’t share food and utensils.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces that are frequently touched.
— HealthLinkBC and World Health Organizationi
