Confirmed COVID-19 cases up to 271 in B.C.

40 additional cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in B.C. bringing the total number of cases up to 271.

One additional death was also reported in relation to an outbreak at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made the announcement Thursday afternoon with Health Minister Adrian Dix.

She said there have been dramatic changes in our society and in the things that we are doing in British Columbia to do the best that we can to try and slow down and prevent the transmission of this infection.

“This is not optional, and I want to be very clear that everybody needs to take these actions now and this is what is going to protect us for the next few weeks, it’s going to protect ourselves, it’s going to protect our families, and it’s going to protect our communities,” Henry said.

“The importance cannot be minimized.”

Of the 271 cases of COVID-19, 12 have been identified in the Interior Health Authority and four in Northern Health.

Henry said she was very heartened by some of the things that they have been seeing across the province in people physically distancing as they have directed, but maintaining that important social connection that we have with each other and continue to need.

“There are many innovative ways that people are doing things; things like virtual coffee dates, take out windows at restaurants, and entrances, people who support 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,” she said. “In particular we want to make sure that we’re not socially isolating our seniors who are the most vulnerable to having a severe illness, people who have underlying illnesses, people with disabilities, and I’m calling on all of us to do what we can as our community to support everybody.”