Updated: 43 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in B.C.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry also confirmed five additional deaths on Tuesday bringing the total number of deaths up to 24.
There are now outbreaks in 19 long term care homes in either the Fraser Health or Vancouver Coastal Health region.
In addition, Henry said Interior Health is investigating the province’s first large community outbreak which involves a group of temporary foreign workers in housing at a West Kelowna agricultural business.
“This business has been closed to customers,” she said. “Interior Health became aware of a number of the workers there with respiratory illness and a number of them have now tested positive for COVID-19. The business itself is being quarantined and everybody is able to be isolated effectively in the housing, the very good housing that is on-site there, and we want to thank both the workers themselves and the owners and operators of the nursery in being fully cooperative.”
Interior Health says a total of 75 at Byland Nurseries Ltd. are involved-63 migrant workers and 12 local workers.
“All are self-isolating,” IH said. “At this time, we have 14 positive COVID-19 test results. Some additional results are pending.”
107 people as of March 31 have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Interior Health Authority and 15 in Northern Health.
Of the province’s 1,013 positive cases a total of 507 patients have fully recovered and are no longer in isolation.