BC’s chief medical officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the province has officially declared a public health emergency on Tuesday.
During the province's health officials' daily news brief, Dr. Henry confirmed 83 new cases, bringing BC's total up to 186 with seven of those cases being in acute care in hospitals.
Of the 186 cases in the province, 16 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 47 in the Fraser Health Region, 12 on Vancouver Island, seven in the Interior, and four in the Northern Region.
It was also announced that there have been three new deaths as a result of the virus.
Two of them were residents at the Lynn Valley Care Centre, the other a resident of the Fraser Health area.
Are you experiencing #COVID19 symptoms like a cough, fever, sore throat or sneezing? Try this quick, new, online self-assessment tool to see if you need testing: https://t.co/WnsU28614I pic.twitter.com/SPT7FaQH6N
— BCCDC (@CDCofBC) March 17, 2020
It's the second time BC has declared a public health emergency, the first being during the opioid overdose crisis of 2016.
“We’ve taken a number of unprecedented measures in the last few days,” said Dr. Henry of the declaration.
“This declaration of an emergency allows me to be faster, more streamlined and nimble in the things we need to do right now.”
All restaurants in the province have now been ordered to move to takeout only and all bars and clubs have been ordered to close.
For all stories related to the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.
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