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Number of B.C. COVID-19 patients in ICU reaches highest level since April

Total rises to 26, up two overnight
bonniehenrymay27
Provincial health office Bonnie Henry

The number of people in B.C. battling COVID-19 ailments serious enough to put them in intensive care units has risen by two overnight, and now sits at 26. That is the highest number of people in that situation since April 30, when there were 30. 

Hospitalizations overall dropped by two overnight, to 72, while the vast majority of the 1,513 people battling the virus are self-isolating at home. 

One person died overnight, making the province's death toll from the virus 251, provincial health officer Bonnie Henry and deputy minister of health Stephen Brown said in a joint statement. 

There were 155 new cases identified in the past 24 hours, for a total of 11,189 people since the virus was first discovered in the province in January. Given that 9,387 people have recovered, that means that 38 people who tested positive are unaccounted for. One reason for that, health officials told BIV is that they could have left the province without alerting authorities. 

Given that there were 10,855 tests overnight, the positive-test rate was 1.42%, or down substantially from yesterday's 2.9% positive-test rate.

There were new cases identified overnight in all health regions. The breakdown of all known infections in B.C. by health region is now:
•  4,036 in Vancouver Coastal Health (up 62);
•  5,884 in Fraser Health (up 84);
•  240 in Island Health (up one);
•  590 in Interior Health (up three);
•  350 in Northern Health (up five); and
•  89 people who reside outside Canada (no change).

"There has been one new community outbreak at the Tim Hortons in Merritt," Henry and Brown said. "There also continue to be exposure events around the province."

There are active outbreaks at two B.C. hospitals: Surrey Memorial Hospital and Delta Hospital.

Fraser Health declared that the outbreak at the KinVillage assisted living facility in Tsawwassen is officially over.

That leaves 15 seniors' homes that have outbreaks. They are: 
• PICS assisted living facility in Surrey;
• Chartwell Carrington House Retirement Resident in MIssion;
• Yaletown House long-term care facility in Vancouver; 
• Weinberg Residence in Vancouver;
• Haro Park Centre long-term care facility in Vancouver;
• Banfield Pavilion long-term care facility in Vancouver;
• Point Grey Private Hospital long-term care facility in Vancouver;
• Harrison West at Elim Village in Surrey;
• Peace Portal Seniors Village in Surrey;
• Chartwell Crescent Gardens in Surrey;
• Langley Lodge in Langley;
• White Rock Seniors' Village in White Rock;
• Thornebridge Gardens in New Westminster;
• George Derby Centre in Burnaby; and the
• Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre long-term care facility.

"The provincial election is just over one week away and advanced voting is available throughout the province," Henry and Brown said.

"To ensure the safety of voters, election workers and candidates, Elections BC has COVID-19 safety plans in place for all locations. If you are planning on voting in person, remember to give others the space to stay safe when going to vote, wash your hands before and after voting, and consider using a mask if distancing is a challenge."

gkorstrom@biv.com

@GlenKorstrom