More COVID-19 restrictions and booster shots possible in Northern Health as cases spread
Health officials are looking at implementing more COVID-19 measures, including possible restrictions or booster vaccine doses, as cases in B.C.'s Northern Health region continue to surge.
The announcement came Tuesday during a news conference with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix.
“We are actively working with (our) Northern Health colleagues to determine what additional measures we need to break the chains of transmission across many communities for everyone,” Henry said.
“My public health colleagues are very concerned with what we continue to see in many communities across the north,” she said.
On a per-capita basis, Northern Health continues to have the highest rate of infection in the province by a wide margin. As a result, there are already regional health measures in place, but more may be needed, Henry said.
“COVID-19 is spreading at a higher than average rate, people are becoming severely ill, even young people – mostly unvaccinated young people – and hospitals are pushed to the limit across the north.”
Consideration is also being given to booster shots for certain communities. So far, only seniors in long-term care homes and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable have been offered a third dose of the vaccines.
“We're also looking at whether we need to use three doses in certain communities as a way to manage some of the severe illness, and the outbreaks that we are seeing,” Henry said.
Infection rates in Northern Health are so high that hospitals are over capacity. So far 55 patients have been transferred to hospitals in other health authorities, Dix said.
Forty-three of those 55 patients are COVID-19 patients, and 42 of them aren’t fully vaccinated, Dix explained.
On the Friday before Thanksgiving, four were transferred out, on Saturday five were transferred, one person on Sunday and four people on Monday.
There are currently 63 critical care beds in the north, Dix said, 23 of which are surge beds that have been added to help deal with COVID-19 cases. But even then, it’s not enough to meet the demand for ICU beds in the region.
“Over this Thanksgiving weekend 14 patients (were) flown from communities in the north, hundreds and hundreds of kilometers,” he said.
Dix thanked health-care workers for their efforts on the transfers, and said the province also added two additional planes to the BC Emergency Health Services fleet to help with the transfers by partnering with private sector companies.
“That's how they dealt with their Thanksgiving,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.