The recent surge of new COVID-19 cases in British Columbia should encourage residents to start preparing for a second wave this fall, says provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Henry confirmed a second wave is likely, but was also quick to point out the difference between what we’re seeing now and what took place in March.
“Our first wave was quite low, so these are numbers we’re not used to seeing, and rightly so. We don’t want them to go any higher.
“This is a surge. It’s increased numbers that we haven’t seen, but we’re not seeing that flooding of hospitals. We’re not seeing large numbers of people in intensive care, and we’re not seeing the transmission and rates in the older age group that we were seeing.”
Minister of Health Adrian Dix echoed her sentiment, comparing the 28 people in acute care on Monday to the 149 people hospitalized on April 5.
On the same day, 72 people were in ICU in B.C., compared to 10 people on Aug. 31.
It is therefore a different challenge, says Dix, but a challenge nonetheless, and one that requires the collective effort of B.C. residents to overcome.
He says COVID-19 will be “aggressively knocking at our doors” this fall – this time disguised as an activity we’ve missed participating in, or a group of friends we haven’t seen in a while.
Nearly 300 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend in B.C. were announced on Monday, as well as four new deaths, bringing the province’s total death count to 208 since the start of the pandemic.
Stepping back will be essential if we want to safely move forward in this next phase of the pandemic, says Henry.
She specifically referred to taking a step back from social interactions, particularly for those who have a responsibility to care for, or spend a lot of time, with an elderly person.
This means keeping groups small, reconsidering involvement in after-school activities or sports teams, and staying home with even the slightest of flu symptoms.
“It can be difficult to tell the difference between a cold and allergies and influenza and COVID-19, and as a result, the first step for everyone is to stay home if we’re not 100 per cent healthy. That is a challenging thing, but the bar to stay home needs to be lower than we’ve ever had it before.
“Our superheroes now are not the people who put aside our illness and go to work, but the people who protect our colleagues and our communities by staying away until we’re healthy again.”
Starting September with a united focus to keep going and keep our communities safe is the goal right now, says Henry.
“No one knows for sure what the fall is going to bring. We may see a surge, we may see a surge in influenza. We all need to be prepared now for whatever challenge may emerge.”
