By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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Non-urgent surgeries postponed as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise

Apr 22, 2021 | 1:35 PM

NANAIMO — Some elective, non-urgent surgeries are the latest cancellation as a result of the province’s third COVID-19 wave.

Nearly 2,000 surgeries in the Lower Mainland will be postponed to free staff and space up for surge capacity in provincial hospitals.

Health minister Adrian Dix said the rearrangement will also see a shift in operation for nine Lower Mainland hospitals where for the next two weeks, only urgent surgeries will take place.

“Right now the need to staff surge capacity means we will have to reduce some services. We know our hospitals have room, but [we need to staff surge capacity] with healthcare workers from other areas (and) surgery staff because of the specialty nature of their work.”

The announcement came as B.C. surpassed 500 people in hospital for COVID-19, including 161 receiving intensive care treatment.

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A total of 1,006 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed for the province on Thursday, April 22, including 32 reported within Island Health.

Active cases in the health authority and the central Island region remained unchanged at 307 and 84, respectively.

There is a data discrepancy between Island Health and the province, based on the timing of COVID-19 results. NanaimoNewsNOW reports local verified data from Island Health.

Active cases across the province again dropped to 8,733 with a further 12,846 people under daily monitoring by public health.

Over 1.5 million doses of vaccine have been administered to date in B.C., with just under 95 per cent being first doses.

Around 32 per cent of the eligible B.C. population have received at least one dose.

“With each person vaccinated, we come closer to returning to our post-pandemic normalcy,” Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said. “It won’t be the same as prior to this pandemic and it will mean some changes as we go through the summer, but it is that step closer for all of us.”

Further details on pending travel restrictions are due to come Friday, April 22 from public safety minister Mike Farnworth.

Earlier this week, Premier John Horgan announced anyone found travelling outside their own health authority without a valid reason would be subject to a fine.

Check stops, similar to the RCMP’s CounterAttack program run during December, will be set up near ferry terminals on Vancouver Island and major highway junctions on the mainland.

“We have asked for these additional actions because we know that right now with the transmission rates we are having, travel will spread the virus further,” Dr. Henry added. “Staying in our local communities means we are not going to and from COVID hotspots and inadvertently bringing the virus along with us.”

Video of the province’s briefing from Thursday is available below:

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