 Good afternoon. I'm Adrian Dix, BC Minister of Health beside me. To my left is Dr. Bonnie Henry, our provincial health officer We're honored to be here on the traditional territories of the Musqueam of the Squamish of the Slewa Tooth people Tomorrow we'll be doing a briefing session at 3 o'clock as well right here at the Vancouver cabinet offices And with that I wanted to introduce Dr. Bonnie Henry Thank you. Good afternoon We'll start today with an update on what is happening with the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 here in British Columbia today As of today we have 40 new cases to report for a total of 271 people who have tested positive so far here in British Columbia and by health authority 152 are in Vancouver Coastal Health 81 in Fraser Health Authority 22 are now on Vancouver Island 12 in Interior Health Area and four remain in the North We have Unfortunately and sadly one additional death to report here in British Columbia today Of the cases that we have 17 are now in hospital So that's an increase from 13 from yesterday with nine of those people being in intensive care right now We continue to have only five who are in our recovered List however We know that most of those people are actually doing very well their symptoms have resolved at home as With most of our cases so far and we are awaiting their clearance with laboratory testing So a good number of our cases particularly in Vancouver Coastal Health are related to the three long-term care Facility outbreaks that we've been following over the last little while So and the additional death that we mentioned today Was again from the Lynn Valley care center where the eighth outbreak is continuing there We also have So far only one Resident and one staff member from the Hollyburn long-term care facility Although that investigation of course is ongoing and we know that there are people within the incubation period there as well and Yesterday reported on the third long-term care facility at Harrow Park where the one resident from that facility is now in hospital and recovering from that So as we've been Following in the last few days We know that there's been traumatic changes in our society and then the things that we're doing here in British Columbia To do the best that we can To try and slow down and prevent the transmission of this infection in our communities in our families and in our province This is not optional and I want to be very clear that Everybody needs to take these actions now and this is what's going to protect us for the next few weeks It's going to protect ourselves. It's going to protect our families and going to protect our communities The importance cannot be minimized Having said that You know, I'm very heartened by some of the things that we've been seeing here across the province in people physically distancing as we've Have we as we've directed but maintaining that so important social connection that we have with each other and that we continue to need There are many innovative ways that people are doing things things like virtual coffee dates Takeout windows at restaurants and entrances people who are supporting each other dropping off food dropping off homemade Goodies taking people's medications to them. These are things that are really important to help us stay connected In particular, we want to make sure that we're not socially isolating our seniors Who are the most vulnerable to having severe illness people who have underlying illnesses people with disabilities and I'm calling on all of Us to do what we can is our communities to support everybody as Individuals I also encourage you to get outside. There are things you can do even if we're doing social distancing You can walk your pet. You can go for a bike ride. You can play with your kids And these are the things that you want to do in a small group as a family together and maintain your distance from others when you're outside as well and Inside of course there are many things now that are being available to people online. There's courses. There's exercise classes There's ebooks. There's many museums now that are putting information online putting their their their paintings their their Their holdings online for people to be able to access and use these are educational opportunities as well for you and your family I Think this this is as I mentioned yesterday a really critical time for us This is the time we need to build that firewall. We need to stop the transmission of this disease We need to stay connected While we're staying apart And we need to take care of each other while we're doing that Thank you Thank you very much. Dr. Henry and of course today we are announcing that An additional person who's passed away from COVID-19 associated with the Lynn Valley care home and our hearts go out both to their families and to the people working at Lynn Valley who Will obviously be shaken and saddened by this as we are As Dr. Henry has said we have 40 additional cases today. That's 271 province-wide 17 in hospital Nine currently in ICU and of those in ICU eight are in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and one in the Fraser Health Authority Just to keep you up to date on some of the activities We're obviously as does all of you know will be announcing Our weekly testing number tomorrow morning Through the BC CDC website that testing continues The work is going on 24-7 at the BC CDC and around BC at other sites that are processing testing And obviously that effort which is a science-based effort is going to is continuing full throttle Wanted to say something about a question. I was asked yesterday about MSP coverage for people returning to British Columbia The chair of the Medical Services Commission has made the Following decisions regarding MSP coverage that the MSP coverage wait period will be waived for those who are returning from impacted areas and Intend to stay in BC. We're also waiving the wait period for those who return to BC and it is found that they were Outside of the province for longer than the allowable time period to maintain MSP coverage MSP beneficiaries who are out of province and are unable to return but may be provided with temporary coverage We must also we also must address those who have expired BC services card beneficiaries who are either unwilling or unable to attend an ICBC office can contact health insurance BC and request a confirmation of coverage letter Advising that their MSP coverage is still affected note that a beneficiary may use the personal health number on their expired BC services card To access provincially funded health care services. They just need to show another piece of ID Finally for those who've applied to MSP but still need to complete the MSP enrollment by attending an ICBC office We were providing a period of temporary coverage that will result in a letter issued to the individual Sitting that they have MSP coverage this letter with the issued personal health number may be used to access provincially funded health services There will be a statement From the from the Commission or I believe that has or will be going out that confirms the details of all those information I want to thank all the people working at 811 which has been a lifeline for many people in British Columbia Answering literally thousands of calls a day. Also the people who are who yesterday at the 188 COVID-19 number who answered one thousand eight hundred and ninety five calls yesterday and Just note that our self-assessment tool at the end of yesterday Had been accessed over one point one five million times. Those are all significant achievements and being able to give people access to the information that they need as Dr. Henry has said there are extraordinary things happening all over BC As people work together to follow the directives of the provincial health office and do what they need to do To support their community and support one another during this difficult period and we are Very very honored and pleased as a community for the offers of support the offers Both financial in some cases but often just community support the number of people who responded to dr. Henry's Request for blood donors yesterday, which I think is exceptional and speaks well of our province and who we are Dr. Henry has made it clear from the start what we asked British Columbians to do is based on the best science available and Part of that science also includes how each of us reacts when we're asked to join the fight against COVID-19 How quickly we join the fight and how sustained our commitment is to it We know that different people have different needs and responsibilities in their lives But what we're saying is pretty clear what we do today affects the lives of people everywhere tomorrow and next week and next month what we do today makes a difference The actions we take today are important So right now and in the days and weeks and months ahead. We need to do what we're asked to do We need to do it hundred one hundred percent We need to do it one hundred percent and we need to keep doing it until we're told we can stop That's the fight. We're in that's the reality We're in and doing it together makes us better as a community helps what those that we love Helps all of the people that we live around live with and care for that's how we wide-wage our battle Je veux dire quelques bonnes rense. Eh, we've done our son 40 new vodka de COVID-19 from Columbia, Britannica Frontotel de dissence wasn't the ones cut on Columbia, Britannica Parmi les nouveaux cas set sent actual mouth Hospitality to dissence and actually my husband is a Hey, hey, je viens de d'expliquer on the tea on the tea in anglais les chiffres Nussan profondément profondément a tristé d'un assay egg and the desay d'une autre résident de l'in valley care center Qui est étasté positive au COVID-19 nous offrons nos Sincère condolences à l'approche et au personnel qui a pris soin de So le nombre de cas 162 sont dans le réjet de santé