State of emergency extended due to surge in variant cases

With COVID-19 case numbers rising and hospitalizations at a near-record high, B.C. Premier John Horgan has extended the provincial state of emergency.

On Tuesday, after B.C. reported 873 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths, Horgan indicated further restrictions may be needed to slow transmission of the virus that has infected 113,702 British Columbians and killed 1,515 during the pandemic.

The daily case total was reported as preliminary, due to a data-collection problem, and subject to revision

There are now 9,756 active cases of COVID -19 confirmed in B.C. and 377 people who are being treated in hospital for the disease, including 116 in intensive care.

Horgan said Tuesday he expected the provincial cabinet will consider legally binding travel restrictions, and those talks will also likely examine the status of visitor bookings for hotels, bed and breakfasts, and campsites.

“This is a difficult time for everyone,” Horgan said. “With the vaccine program well underway we can see hope on the horizon, but higher case numbers and variants mean that we need to draw back in some places instead of opening up.”

A total of 5,221 of B.C.'s cases, including 258 active cases, have been determined to be variants of concern, which are significantly more contagious than the original virus. This includes 3,627 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the U.K.; 65 cases of the B. 1.351 variant, first identified in South Africa; and 1,529 cases of the P. 1 variant, which originated in Brazil.

The variant count has risen by more than 1,110 cases since Friday, including 545 new cases of B.1.1.7 and 555 new cases of P.1.

B.C. imposed restrictions last month that shut down the resort community of Whistler and closed indoor dining at restaurants and pubs across the province in a three-week circuit breaker to slow the spread of COVID -19 variants.

Horgan said the B.C. cabinet meets today and more steps to fight the COVID-19 pandemic are bound to be discussed.

“We've not taken anything off the table, but practicality is first and foremost in our mind,” Horgan said.

“We will use the tools that are available to us if we believe they are effective, but deployment of those tools is a challenge. We haven't taken travel restrictions off the board, quite frankly.”

The state of emergency extension is to April 27, more than 13 months since the state of emergency was first declared on March 18, 2020.