Premier John Horgan has struck a special coronavirus committee and announced that B.C. will open four new testing labs as part of its efforts to address the spread of the disease.
The measures, part of the province’s government-wide plan of action, were announced Friday by Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
By the end of next week, B.C. will have four additional labs to carry out coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and new machinery, said Horgan.
The government-wide response also includes preparation for an outbreak lasting up to four months.
Currently, B.C. — which has 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19 — remains in the containment phase, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix.
This falls under “phase one” of the plan, which addresses identification — such as through testing — and containment of the virus.
The second phase, if necessary, would escalate the government’s response to direct resources.
This phase also prepares for the use of emergency powers, and would ensure continuity for the province’s businesses and services.
Dix said there are four major priorities for B.C. to contain the spread of COVID-19, including protecting the general population, protecting vulnerable citizens and health care workers, and supporting B.C.’s health-care capacity.
These priorities are included in the second phase of the pandemic provincial co-ordination plan.
The premier also announced a deputy ministers’ committee, which will guide the government’s approach to a possible pandemic and B.C.’s preparedness. The committee will be co-chaired by Horgan and Dix.
Population protection measures include increasing testing capacity and expanding communication with at-risk groups, as well as enacting continuity plans to prepare for high absence rates due to illness.
It would also provide supports and guidance for businesses and institutions, including grocery stores, public transportation, schools and tourism, to manage these challenges in the event of a three- to four-month outbreak.
“This means working with grocery store chains to monitor and ensure supply for daily living, food chains and key suppliers to develop contingency plans, (working with) public transportation to reduce infection spread,” said Dix.
Another key component is establishing protocols for cruise ships in advance of the season’s start in B.C., he said.
Additional screening measures for visitors to long-term care, assisted living and community care facilities, are some of the measures that would be implemented to help protect vulnerable senior citizens. Visitors to those facilities could also be reduced.
Hospital capacity would be managed by discharging low-risk patients, deferring scheduled surgeries and procedures, and identifying capacity for new care spaces within hospitals and ensuring bed equipment capacity.
One of the 21 confirmed cases in B.C. is in intensive care.
However, that patient’s condition has improved, said Henry on Friday.
The other current cases remain in isolation at home. The first four cases confirmed in the province have since recovered.
As the province has only seen small clusters of the coronavirus as opposed to a more wide-spread outbreak, people can still attend large gatherings, said Henry, but should stay at home if they are sick.
By Friday around noon, 101,700 people around the world have been confirmed, at some point, as having coronavirus (COVID-19).
The virus has caused 3,461 deaths, mostly in China, where the disease originated late last year.
Of all of those confirmed cases, 56,106 people have recovered.
Outside of China, the countries the World Health Organization is most concerned about are South Korea, Iran and Italy, where the disease shows no sign of slowing down.
