COVID-19 update for May 10: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

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Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for May 10, 2021.

We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in B.C. right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.

Check back here for more updates throughout the day. You can also get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 p.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.

B.C.’S COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS

As of the latest figures given on May 7:

• Total number of confirmed cases: 134,341 (6,757 active cases)
• New cases since May 6: 722
• Total deaths: 1,602 (seven new deaths)
• Hospitalized cases: 455
• Intensive care: 157
• Total vaccinations: 1,995,496 doses administered (95,868 second doses)
• Cases under public health monitoring: (not available)
• Recovered: 125,799
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 7

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IN-DEPTH:COVID-19: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus

B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

• COVID-19: Here’s everything you need to know about the novel coronavirus

• COVID-19: Here’s how to get your vaccination shot in B.C.

• COVID-19: Afraid of needles? Here’s how to overcome your fear and get vaccinated

• COVID-19: Five things to know about the P1 variant spreading in B.C.

• COVID-19: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021

• COVID-19: Have you been exposed? Here are all B.C. public health alerts

• COVID-19 at B.C. schools: Here are the school district exposure alerts

• COVID-19: Avoid these hand sanitizers that are recalled in Canada

• COVID-19: Here’s where to get tested in Metro Vancouver

• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

LATEST NEWS ON COVID-19 IN B.C.

3 p.m. – Health officials are set to share latest figures on COVID-19 in B.C.

Health officials are expected to update the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries across the province.

10:45 a.m. – Canucks Place workers bring back 7 p.m. salute to healthcare workers

Staff, volunteers and committee members with Canucks Place Children’s Hospice are marking National Nurses Week by bringing back the 7 p.m. salute to healthcare workers.

In 2020, people all over the world stopped what they were doing at 7 p.m. to cheer, clap and bang pots and pans in appreciation for the effort and sacrifices made by front-line healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The 7 p.m. salute was heard all over Metro Vancouver during the first few months of the pandemic but the practice fizzled out by late summer as the province’s COVID-19 numbers dropped.

On Tuesday, Canucks Place staffers will staged a pair of drive-by 7 p.m. salutes at hospice locations in Vancouver and Abbotsford to honour its nursing teams.

“Fourteen months into the pandemic, our clinical team and frontline workers continue to provide critical care to B.C.’s sickest children and their families,” Canucks Place said in a press release.

10:40 a.m. – Vaccinated students attending University of Lethbridge eligible to win full tuition

The University of Lethbridge says it’s worth a shot for students to get vaccinated before school starts this fall.

The university has announced students who receive a COVID-19 vaccination before Sept. 9 are eligible to win one of nine grand prizes of full tuition for this fall, which are worth about $3,600 each.

U of L President Mike Mahon says the school is not making vaccinations mandatory to attend, but notes the contest is a great idea to encourage people to get their shots.

He says he also hopes to have a vaccination clinic at the university when classes begin in the fall.

Mahon says encouraging 10,000 students and staff to get vaccinated is a significant part of Lethbridge’s population, which is about 100,000 people.

More than half of the students enrolled at the school are from Alberta, but Mahon says the contest is also open to international students as long as they’re living in Canada.

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– The Canadian Press

8:30 a.m. – Deadly fungal infection found in India 

India’s health authorities warned about a fungal infection seen in some COVID-19 patients which can disfigure facial features and even kill.

Mucormycosis, also called the “black fungus” infection, can damage the sinuses or lungs when the spores are inhaled, the Indian Council of Medical Research said in a health advisory issued Sunday.

Patients who have been on medication for some time or had prolonged stays in the intensive-care unit are particularly susceptible, the ICMR said. The rare but deadly infection can kill and maim patients, with some Covid sufferers losing their upper jaws and eyes after contracting it, according to local media reports.

7 a.m. – Seven B.C. flights added to exposure list

The B.C. Centre of Disease Control has listed seven more recent flights flagged for carrying  COVID-sick passengers.

The affected flights are:

All passengers arriving on international flights are required to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days. As well, international travellers arriving in Canada by air must also spend up to three days of their quarantine period in a government-approved hotel.

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Those who were on board a domestic flight with a confirmed case are not required to self-isolate but must monitor closely for possible symptoms.

6:45 a.m. – Vaccine booking invitations being sent to those 43 and older

Everyone in the province 43 years and older (born 1978 or earlier) registered to get a COVID-19 vaccine will be receiving an email or text notification in the coming week inviting them to book an appointment, as the province’s age-based program moves ahead.

People must be registered through B.C.’s Get Vaccinated system to get an email or text notification prompting them to book an appointment when it is their turn. Registration is opened all adults 18+ in B.C.

Anyone who is not registered should register in one of three ways:

SUNDAY

2:15 p.m. –  “Hello, I am a B.C. resident.” What it’s like to have an Alberta licence plate in B.C. right now

Some B.C. residents with Alberta licence plates have become creative to avoid confrontation with those who might assume they are disregarding provincial travel restrictions.

Wendy McLellan was out for a walk in her Victoria neighbourhood when she noticed a car with an Alberta licence plate. Beneath the distinctive tag for “Wild Rose Country” was a homemade sign reading, “Hello, I am a B.C. resident.”

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McLellan said the sign made her feel a little sad. “Why are humans so judgmental?” she posted on Facebook.

Homemade signs and bumper stickers have been seen on vehicles with Alberta licence plates since B.C. health officials first advised people not to travel outside their community early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 23, B.C. introduced its strictest travel orders yet, prohibiting people from travelling between three zones, including a combined zone for Vancouver Coastal Health and the Fraser Valley, another for the Northern and Interior health regions and a third for Vancouver Island. Anyone travelling for non-essential reasons could face a $575 fine.

The travel restrictions do not prohibit interprovincial travel, which means there are no penalties for Albertans or any out-of-province travellers who come to B.C. unless they cross regional boundaries.

– Glenda Luymes

2 p.m. –  Winnipeg, Brandon schools ordered to move online Wednesday 
Schools in Winnipeg and Brandon, Man., are being ordered to move classes online starting Wednesday and continuing until May 30 as Manitoba battles a worsening third wave of COVID-19.

Education Minister Cliff Cullen and chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin announced the move in Winnipeg on Sunday, along with new public health measures that impact schools elsewhere in the province.

Cullen said while the government has prioritized keeping schools open during the pandemic, the move was prompted by increasing COVID-19 spread that’s infecting more young people and sending more patients to intensive care units.

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– The Canadian Press

11:30 a.m. – From record deaths, to almost none: U.K.’s COVID success gives Canada hope for the future

On May 3, the British government announced that only one person had died of COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours.

It was a sharp turn around in a little over three months, from the country’s worst ever death toll in the pandemic, to almost none.

It’s also something, health experts say, Canadians can look to with hope.

“The U.K. shows the best way forward for Canada,” said Dr. Fahad Razak, an internal medicine specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

The way, said Razak, is about getting more vaccines into arms, and keeping smart public health measures in place for as long as possible, to let the vaccines do their thing.

In January, the U.K. saw record numbers of new cases, deaths, hospitalizations and intensive care admissions. They were three to five times the worst numbers Canada has ever seen.

On January 8, more than 68,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19, on Jan. 20, more than 1,820 people died. There were that month, more than 39,000 people in hospital on the worst day, and more than 4,000 in intensive care.

Now, after half the British population has had a single vaccine dose, one-quarter have had two, and the entire country faced a strict lockdown with a gradual, staged, reopening, the U.K.’s picture isn’t just better, it’s a whole new world.

Every one of those statistics is down. New cases? Down 96 per cent. Deaths? Down 99 per cent. Hospitalizations and ICU patients? Down 97 per cent.

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“This is the remarkable effect of getting those vaccines into people’s arms, and effective and smart restrictions on public health measures,” said Razak. “This is the effect, you’re seeing it right now.”

Britain, like Canada, is one of the only countries in the world to delay second doses for several months, so that more people can get protected from at least one dose faster.

– The Canadian Press

9:30 a.m. – More B.C. flights added to COVID-19 exposure list

The B.C. Centre of Disease Control has listed nine more recent flights, including a float plane, that have been flagged for potential COVID-19 exposure.

The affected flights were:

Those who were on board a domestic flight with a confirmed case are not required to self-isolate but must monitor closely for possible symptoms.

B.C. VACCINE TRACKER

LOCAL RESOURCES for COVID-19 information

Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.

• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

• Vancouver Coastal Health – Information on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

• HealthLink B.C. – Coronavirus (COVID-19) information page

• B.C. Centre for Disease Control – Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

• Government of Canada – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update

• World Health Organization – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak

– With files from The Canadian Press