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(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)

With the number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 still climbing, Interior Health is doing its part to make sure there are enough beds for the region it serves.

On March 27, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry outlined a number of COVID-19 scenarios. The worst case, based on Italy’s experience, showed Interior Health would need 507 beds at the pandemic’s peak.

Today, out of 1,431 beds in the entire region, there are more than 850 made vacant and, in theory, suitable for COVID-19 patients leaving a surplus of more than 300 vacant beds today.

Those beds have been freed up by cancelling elective surgeries, but also because social distancing measures introduced in March mean fewer people are partaking in activities to land them in hospital.

“We have seen a significant decrease in emergency department visits Interior Health-wide, which would most likely relate to the reduced overall activity we are seeing in all communities as people take the advice to stay home except for non-essential activities,” Senior Communications Consultant Karl Hardt said in an email to iNFOnews.ca. “Patients who come to emergency departments may require admission to hospital so fewer emergency cases would also result in fewer of those admissions."

The total number of beds includes all the hospitals in the region running from the Cariboo to the Alberta and U.S. borders. Six hospitals have been identified as the primary sites for COVID-19 patients.

The latest detailed breakdown of bed availability was as of April 2.

• Kelowna General Hospital has 441 beds and 189 were available.
• Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops has 258 beds and 92 were available.
• Vernon Jubilee Hospital has 186 beds and 95 were available.
• Penticton Regional Hospital has 155 beds and 68 were available.
• Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail has 75 beds and 24 were available.
• East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook has 77 beds and 39 were available.

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