COVID-19 update for April 29: 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 April 29, 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 April 29:

• Total number of confirmed cases: 128,742 (7,996 active cases)
• New cases since April 26: 853
• Total deaths: 1,577 (1 new death)
• Hospitalized cases: 503
• Intensive care: 178
• Total vaccinations: 1,749,375 doses administered (90,296 second doses)
• Cases under public health monitoring: 11,628
• Recovered: 118,937
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 12

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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 FAQ: What you need to know about the vaccine rollout in B.C.

• 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.

7:00 p.m. – After vaccinations, COVID-19 cases in Whistler drops

Whistler recorded a drastic decline in COVID-19 cases following a community-wide vaccination program.

There were 17 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the resort municipality from April 19 to 25 compared to 72 cases the week before, said Vancouver Coastal Health.

This follows a week-long vaccination program from April 12 to 18 for people who live or work in Whistler. To date, 17,100 doses have been administered to eligible residents and those in neighbouring communities, said the health authority.

About 1,755 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Whistler this year until April 25.

6:30 p.m. – Outbreak declared at Lions Gate Hospital 

Sixteen patients and one staff member at Lions Gate Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting Vancouver Coastal Health to declare an outbreak in two of the hospital’s units.

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The outbreak is located on the fourth floor in the 4 West sub-acute medicine unit and 4 East acute medicine unit, said the health authority late Thursday.

COVID-19 protocols to prevent further transmission have been put in place, it said, including enhanced cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces and careful monitoring of patients, staff and doctors.

The units are closed to new admissions and transfers at this time. Visitors are not allowed on the fourth floor of the hospital until outbreak measures have been lifted, except for compassionate visits at the end-of-life.

Lions Gate Hospital remains open.

1 p.m. – 853 new cases, record ICU cases; vaccines on the way

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 853 new reported cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total to date in the province to 128,742.

There are 178 people in intensive care with COVID-19, the highest to date.

There have been one additional death, nudging the death toll to 1,577.

Henry said B.C. is expecting to receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week.

B.C. will also receive about one million doses of Pfizer next month, which Henry said will accelerate the age-based program.

*Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that the new case count was 874. This was the number given by Dr. Bonnie Henry at the 1 p.m. press conference. A joint statement since released by the government put the new case count at 853.

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1 p.m. – COVID-19: No pop-up clinics planned as Fraser Health apologizes for ‘negative experiences’

The Fraser Health Authority has apologized for any “negative experiences” people had standing in line for hours at poorly-communicated pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

“I sincerely apologize for any negative experiences people may have had,” said Dr. Victoria Lee at a news conference on Thursday. “The intent was to ensure that we reach out to the high-risk community as quickly as possible.”

At a pop-up clinic in Newton on Wednesday, some people waited in line for up to five hours before being told there was no more supply.

She acknowledged there was a lot of frustration and confusion about the last-minute, poorly announced, clinics in Coquitlam and Surrey offering the AstraZeneca on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ten of the 13 highest-transmission neighbourhoods in B.C. are in the Fraser Health region. These communities have been prioritized for vaccination.

More than 6,000 people were immunized at the clinics over two days, however Lee said no further pop ups are being planned in the Fraser Health region.

10:30 a.m. – Outbreak declared at the Site C dam project in Northern B.C.

The Northern Health Authority has declared a COVID-19 outbreak on the Site C dam project in B.C.’s Peace River region.

BC Hydro says the outbreak is among workers of Peace River Hydro Partners, the project’s main civil works contractor, specifically those working in the contractor’s office complex and on the dam core excavation.

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Northern Health has determined there is no need to stop work on the project, and work will continue as planned, BC Hydro said, in a news release Thursday.

Since the beginning of March, there have been more than 40 cases of COVID-19 reported at Site C. There are 13 active cases and 100 workers isolating at home or on site.

The outbreak declaration will remain in place for at least 28 days.

President of BC Hydro Chris O’Riley said they have worked hard to avoid the spread of COVID-19 at Site C, with screening and physical distancing measures, but concedes more must be done.

9 a.m. – BCCDC warns of COVID-19 exposures on 10 more domestic flights

Another 10 domestic flights with COVID-infected passengers have been added to the B.C. Centre of Disease Control’s COVID-19 flight exposure list.

The affected flights are:

• April 15: WestJet 706,Vancouver to Toronto
• April 19: Flair 8861, Toronto to Vancouver
• April 20: Air Canada 225, Calgary to Vancouver
• April 22: WestJet 136, Vancouver to Calgary
• April 24: Air Canada 212, Vancouver to Calgary
• April 24: Air Canada/Jazz 8182, Fort St. John to Vancouver
• April 24: Air Canada/Jazz 8414, Vancouver to Kelowna
• April 24: Air Canada/Jazz 8543, Regina to Vancouver
• April 25: Pacific Coastal Airlines 8P458, Trail to Vancouver
• April 26: Air Canada/Jazz 8245, Terrace to Vancouver

The BCCDC says passengers seated near a case of COVID-19 will no longer be directly notified of their potential exposure.

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For row information, visit the BCCDC’s full listing of all exposure flights here.

The centre says all passengers on a domestic flight with a COVID-19 case should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, while all international passengers are required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Canada.

5 a.m. – How do you secure a second dose of AstraZeneca from a B.C. pharmacy? Follow these steps

Beginning May 1, all British Columbians who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy will be required to register online through the province’s Get Vaccinated website before they can receive their second dose.

B.C. pharmacies have been handling both the registration and the delivery of the first AstraZeneca shot, which has been made available to British Columbians born in 1981 or before (ages 40 and older).

The recent registration requirement has led to some confusion, as many people left their pharmacy believing an appointment for a second dose was already booked. The Ministry of Health says any second dose appointment you received from your pharmacist is not guaranteed.

Individuals who received a pharmacy shot still need register at gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated — the same website used for the government’s age-based vaccine rollout — to ensure they get their second dose.

The reasons why are explained in this Q&A exchange with the Ministry of Health.

-Scott Brown

5 a.m. – Judge compares COVID-19 rule breaker to dealing fentanyl on the streets

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A B.C. provincial court judge compared a man’s actions on breaking COVID-19 rules to selling the powerful opioid fentanyl on the street as she sentenced him Wednesday.

Mohammad Movassaghi was handed one day in jail, a $5,000 fine and 18 months’ probation after previously pleading guilty to disobeying a court order, failing to comply with a health officer’s order and unlawfully purchasing grain alcohol.

Judge Ellen Gordon described the event as “a crime, not a party,” and something attended by people “foolish enough” to put their and their grandmothers’ health at risk.

“If someone who had been at your party was infected and died, as far as I’m concerned, you’re guilty of manslaughter. If someone who had been at your party was infected and passed it on to grandma, as far as I’m concerned, you’re guilty of manslaughter,” she told him.

“What you did, sir, is comparable to individuals who sell fentanyl to the individuals on the street who die every day. There’s no difference. You voluntarily assumed a risk that could kill people in the midst of a pandemic.”

-The Canadian Press

5 a.m. – Some ineligible people got vaccinated at Fraser Health pop-up site, says health minister

A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic that appeared in Coquitlam on Tuesdaygave doses of AstraZeneca to young people who did not live in high-transmission neighbourhoods, says health minister Adrian Dix.

“The intention of these clinics was to focus on the areas where we are seeing high transmission of COVID-19,” he said. “Some people outside those areas did get immunized, in the Coquitlam pop-up.”

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At around noon on Tuesday, Fraser Health announced it would immediately open two pop-up vaccination sites — at the Poirier Forum in Coquitlam and Cloverdale Recreation Centre — for people aged 30 and over who lived in one of 10 high-transmission neighbourhoods in the health region.

Six of these neighbourhoods are in Surrey-East Newton, Fleetwood, North Surrey, Panorama, West Newton and Whalley — but also include Port Coquitlam, South Langley Township, North Delta, and West Abbotsford.

The sites opened at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday and closed at 7 p.m., leading to a large lineup at the Coquitlam site — starting even before Fraser Health made its public announcement.

On Wednesday, another pop-up was opened at the Newton Athletic Park in Surrey for anyone aged over 18, without any public notice on the health authority’s website.

This site also experienced a long lineup that ended after a heated exchange with health authority staff when the vaccine ran out.

“We could have done better in terms of communication, and we acknowledge that,” said Dix. “On the communications, absolutely we’re going to be better.”

He said that despite the lineups, miscommunication and vaccinations for ineligible people, 4,100 doses had been administered on Tuesday.

-David Carrigg

12 a.m. – 841 new cases, five additional deaths

On Wednesday, B.C. reported 841 new cases, for a total of 127,889 cases of COVID-10 in the province.

There were five additional deaths.

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The number of hospitalizations increased from the previous 24-hour reporting period, with 515 currently in hospital, including 171 in critical condition in intensive care.

The new COVID-19 cases were in Fraser Health (541), Vancouver Coastal (171), Island Health (35), Interior Health (74) and Northern Health (20).

12 a.m. – B.C. Liberal health critic calls for clarity over pop-up clinics and vaccine rollout

The B.C. Liberals blasted the health ministry Wednesday for “poorly-announced” pop-up clinics in the Fraser Valley and confusion over vaccine rollouts.

“We are hearing from more and more constituents, and especially those in the ‘hot spot’ of Surrey, who are frustrated about last-minute, poorly-announced pop-up clinics and inconsistent eligibility requirements that are not being widely enforced,” said health critic Renee Merrifield.

“They are also struggling with conflicting instructions around registering for second doses.”

On Tuesday, thousands of people waited in line at pop-up clinics in Surrey and Coquitlam meant to vaccinate residents in high-transmission neighbourhoods. The lineup at at least one clinic, the Coquitlam Poirier Centre, started even before Fraser Health issued a news release about the clinics or put information about them on its website.

A pop-up clinic on Wednesday at the Newton Athletic Park drew long line-ups with no official word from Fraser Health.

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