Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s chief medical officer, has identified an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health Region at the United Poultry Company in Vancouver in her daily briefing on Tuesday April 21. Twenty-eight employees have tested positive for the virus after the health authority was investigating one of the community cases identified and it became clear that other employees in the workplace were infected. The plant has since been closed as a result.
Not all of those cases were included in today’s updated numbers and will be reported over the next few days. The province became aware of these cases because of an outbreak report from Vancouver Coastal Health.
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Henry said that COVID-19 can not be transmitted by meat or meat packaging but that people should follow the regular perceptions when handling poultry.
Henry confirmed that there was another case in a separate poultry plant in the Tri-Cities.
There was one additional death: a senior in a long term care facility who passed away in Vancouver coastal health.
“Our thoughts go out to the family and the caregivers of this person,” said Henry.
Henry said that their goal was to prevent transmission while limiting the impact of the necessary public health measures. Henry said that she was looking to industry including the film and television industry to help formulate the best way to return to work while ensuring a safe environment and not spreading the virus.
“Getting back to work is something we’re all looking forward to,” said Henry. “We are looking ahead to getting back to school and seeing our friends and family again. But now is the time to start thinking about how to do this safely with our precaution in place.”
Here are today’s COVID-19 numbers for Tuesday, April 21, compared with numbers from Monday, April 20 — a 24-hour period — in brackets:
New cases: 25 (52)
Total: 1,724 (1,669)
Recovered: 1,041 (1,039)
Hospitalized: 109 (115)
Intensive care: 51 (49)
Additional deaths: 1 (5)
Deaths: 86 (86)
Long-term care, assisted living: 20 (20)
Confirmed cases by region:
Vancouver Coastal Health: 707
Fraser Health: 715
Island Health: 109
Interior Health: 153
Northern Health: 40
More to come.
