Dr. Bonnie Henry said there were two more COVFID-19 deaths today, April 9.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/BC Government

B.C. has 34 new test positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the B.C. total to 1,370.

Of those cases, 858 people were considered to be fully recovered and were no longer in isolation, Dr. Bonnie Henry said today, April 9.

The newest numbers show 130 confirmed cases in Interior Health, 82 on Vancouver Island, 626 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 508 in Fraser Health, and 24 in Northern Health.

There are 132 people in hospital and 68 people are in intensive care or critical care units. Ten of those hospital cases are from Interior Health.

Two more fatalities have also been recorded, raising the provincial total to 50.

While B.C. is “holding its own” when it comes to reducing the spread of COVID-19, this weekend is particularly important when it comes to practicing physical distancing.

Residents need to keep bending the curve, not the rules — something most have been conscientious of — as it could lead to a quicker transition out of physical distancing mandates. She mentioned that areas that are seeing lesser rates of COVID-19 transmission could eventually transition out of quarantine measures sooner, though only time will tell. For now it's a matter of keeping up the work that's already been started. 

“I think the story is being told in what we’re seeing,” Henry said. “The number of cases and number people in hospital… tells me people are doing what we asked them to do. We are holding our own and I believe that’s because people in B.C. are doing what we are asking them to do.”

Data collection from sources, such as Google, are also showing the same, Henry said.

“We need people to hold this line. We need to keep the community safe in B.C.”

She also acknowledged there are some areas in B.C. where the rate of transmission is lesser, however, there is “community transmission in most areas of the province.” 

Earlier in the day, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Theresa Tam said the coronavirus could cost 11,000 to 22,000 Canadian lives over the course of the pandemic — and that’s the best case scenario with the strongest control measures.

If those controls are weak, those deaths could spike to more than 100,000.

When asked if she could drill down to what will happen in B.C., Henry stressed that the modelling isn't finished. It's a "range of what could happen" and she wasn't willing to offer up that number.

"Death data is not something that is easily projected into a model because scenarios can be very different," she said. "(In B.C.) we have care home outbreaks, and we have a high proportion of deaths in those communities."

The rate of death in those communities doesn’t reflect how the virus is moving through other communities and Henry said that's why death projections aren't "particularly helpful".

"We are being open and transparent," she said. "Things that people in B.C. are doing are making a difference."

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