New confirmed cases of COVID-19 are down again since Friday, as are the number of hospitalizations, but it will likely be two more weeks before some of the restrictions now in place might start being eased, says provincial health officer Bonnie Henry.
“The easing of the restrictions when they come will be gradual,” Henry said in her daily pandemic update Saturday.
She added big events, like weddings, parades, festivals “will not be happening this summer.”
"Things like the PNE are not likely to happen this year," she said.
There were 29 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Friday, bringing the total 1,647.
There have been three more deaths, bringing the death toll in B.C. to 81, but hospitalizations are down slightly to 115. There have been no new cases in long-term care homes and assisted living. A total of 987 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered.
The divergence between falling new cases and hospitalizations, and increasing deaths, is explained by a two or three-week lag between when a person first becomes infected by COVID-19 and the time they succumb to the disease.
Here are today’s COVID-19 numbers for Saturday April 18, with numbers from April 17 in brackets:
New cases: 29 (43)
Total: 1,647 (1,618)
Recovered: 987 (966)
Hospitalized: 115 (119)
Intensive care: 54 (52)
Deaths: 81 (78)
Long-term care, assisted living: 20 (20)
Confirmed cases by region:
Vancouver Coastal Health: 686
Fraser Health: 680
Island Health: 97
Interior Health: 150
Northern Health: 34
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