BC has 66 additional positive tests for the new coronavirus COVID-19 in the 24 hours through March 26, says Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer.
The regional totals are 359 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 241 in Fraser Health, 52 in Island Health, 62 in Interior Health, and 11 in Northern Health. Work on outbreaks in nine BC nursing homes continues and there are no new deaths.
Of the 725 cases, 66 people are in the hospital, 26 of them in intensive care, and 186 people have recovered and been cleared through tests. That’s two additional hospital stays since March 25th.
Health Secretary Adrian Dix said British Columbia’s health system has now cleared more than 3,900 beds, including 371 ICU beds, as COVID-19 cases continue to increase daily in the province and across Canada.
“This is going to be a difficult time, one of the hardest we’ve seen in this province,” Dix said, urging everyone to follow Henry’s public health guidelines to avoid gatherings and limit trips to only necessary trips.
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On the positive side, call handling on the 8-1-1 HealthLink line has improved significantly. For the first time, more than 5,000 calls were handled in one day. The 8-1-1 line features nurses and “case navigators” that people can use to determine if they have contracted COVID-19 and a host of other health issues.
“The average wait time was 5.3 minutes, which reflects both the exceptional number of new hires and the dedication we saw at the 8-1-1,” said Dix. “This is hugely helpful for people as they deal with both the fear of COVID-19 and the reality of feeling sick during a difficult time in BC.”
@ Tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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