Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix provide an update on COVID-19 to the media.

Image Credit: Province of British Columbia

The number of new cases reported in B.C. is the lowest in weeks, according to an announcement today from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Twenty-nine new cases and three additional deaths have been reported in B.C., Henry said. She spoke during a press conference which was streamed to social media platforms Saturday, April 4, to provide a provincial update on COVID-19.

There are 128 reported cases in the Interior Health region, Henry said. This means only two new cases were reported since Friday, April 3.

“We are seeming to flatten our curve and that’s why it’s so important, as I’ve been saying, to hold the line,” she said.

While Henry said it's too soon to be optimistic, considering the number of outbreaks that have occurred in B.C., "I am heartened to see that decrease in acceleration,” she said.

There has also been no new additional cases reported at the Okanagan Correctional Centre, she said, adding that they are monitoring staff and inmates that could have been exposed to the virus. A case was reported at the centre earlier this week.

There are currently 1,203 cases in B.C., and an additional outbreak at a long-term care home has been reported in the Fraser Health region, bringing the total number of impacted care homes to 23, Henry said.

The province is also allocating $2 million to the Michael Smith Foundation for health research alongside the BC Centre for Disease Control to: track the transmission of the virus, understand the susceptibility of people to COVID-19, understand the impact of social media on people’s behaviours during the pandemic, and  support an intuitive to develop a vaccine, which is one of at least 25 initiatives worldwide, Henry said.

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