Oliver Chronicle Staff
There are 26 new test-positive cases of COVID-19 in B.C. as of Saturday, bringing the total province-wide to 2,171.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said there were 175 cases in the Interior Health region during the update from Victoria on May 2.
“We cannot afford to have any missteps as we look to ease restrictions in the coming days and weeks,” Henry said.
There are 832 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 992 in the Fraser Health region, 123 on Vancouver Island
There are 72 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. as of May 2, and two additional deaths were reported Saturday, bringing the total 114
A total of 1,376 people have recovered fully in B.C.
Henry spoke directly to the province’s youth Saturday, noting the struggles of connecting in a virtual way.
“It’s especially challenging for young people where their main connections are often related to friends and school,” Henry said.
“We want you to know you’re not alone. We understand this can be very anxiety provoking. We understand that there is a lot of things we don’t know and we’re working through together,” Henry said, and if youth are in need of help they can contact the provincial youth help line: 1-800-680-4264.
Graduation ceremonies for the class of 2020 will not be going ahead as usual, but will assuredly be special for students, Henry said.
“We won’t be doing them in the same way this summer, but take heart, we are thinking about that. Teacher administrators and parents are still working to make it an incredibly memorable experience for all of you,” Henry said. “You are and will always be unique in the graduating class. It’s been over 100 years since we’ve had an event like this pandemic.”
“Few of us will ever experience graduating during the circumstances of a global pandemic.”
