B.C. health officials have announced one new death from COVID-19, and a major outbreak at a poultry processing plant in Vancouver.
At her Tuesday briefing, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed 25 new cases of the virus, for a total of 1,724 cases in B.C. since the outbreak began. Eighty-seven people have died from COVID-19 in B.C. in total.
Twenty-eight cases have been identified at United Poultry in East Vancouver, where health officials began widespread testing after a worker was diagnosed on Sunday.
“It became apparent that there were a number of others in the workplace that were positive,” Henry said.
“Not all of those people are included in today’s numbers, as some of the testing was conducted yesterday and will be reported over the coming days.”
Employees of the processing and packing facility have been told to self-isolate, and the facility has been closed, said Henry.
Henry said there was no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread from consuming chicken or handling packaging, but that it is always important to wash your hands when dealing with raw meat.
Meanwhile, the outbreak at the Mission Institution in the Fraser Valley has also grown to 76 people: 65 inmates and 11 staff.
There was a small uptick in the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital, now at 109. Fifty-one of those patients are in intensive care.
Resuming surgeries
Last month, B.C. cancelled tens of thousands of non-urgent surgeries to free up hospital beds for a possible surge of COVID-19 patients.
Officials have said some of those surgeries could resume by mid-May, and on Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province was assessing waitlists and its supply of protective gear in preparation.
However, he said the mid-May estimate is just that — an estimate.
“It requires us in these weeks to continue to flatten the curve. That’s important,” Dix said.
“It requires enormous and significant planning to start again and to decide what our priorities are and what surgeries can be done most safely at this time, and it requires us being certain our acute care facilities can deal with this.”
Another glimpse at the new normal
Henry shed more light on what a “new normal” might look like when B.C. lifts some of its restrictions meant to slow the spread of the disease.
She’s already said major summer events, such as concerts and parades, would be off-limits this year.
But on Tuesday, she said activities such as non-urgent medical or personal service appointments and working in close quarters jobs such as film production would be possible — with precautions.
Dentists, massage or physiotherapists or hairstylists, for example, would need to see fewer patients and keep enough space between staff, Henry said.
The province will need to develop guidance for other industries to ensure people can keep apart when possible, she added, and reduce risk when they must be in close contact.
“I’m looking to industry to say, ‘How do we do that within those parameters for the coming months?'”
Earlier Tuesday, the federal government unveiled a new online calculator for businesses to calculate how much money they might get through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. That funding is expected to begin flowing mid-May.
Business groups released a survey Tuesday warning that four in 10 companies that have shut down due to the pandemic think they won’t be able to reopen.
On Monday, Henry said anyone showing COVID-19 symptoms was now eligible to be tested.