B.C. toddler dies of COVID-19, provincial travel restrictions in the works

If the severity of COVID-19 was not clear before today (April 19), one of the deaths from this past weekend has certainly proved it.

That's from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry who reported that the virus claimed eight more lives across B.C., including a child under the age of two years old in Fraser Health for a new toll of 1,538 during the pandemic.

This was among 2,960 total infections in B.C. from the last 72 hours, surpassing a new milestone to 120,040 since January 2020.

In Northern Health, there were 100 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 for 6,838 in the authority since March 2020.

Despite the child that passed having pre-existing health conditions, Dr. Henry said it was complications with the virus that ultimately killed them, making them the youngest life COVID-19 has claimed in B.C. thus far.

The province is also extending its current public health orders for five more weeks.

The 'circuit breaker' restrictions that include no indoor dining, no group fitness classes and no organized public gatherings or events, indoor or outdoor, will run through until the Victoria Day long weekend, formally ending May 25.

There are also new travel restrictions in the works for B.C., in which officials say to stay in your own health authority unless it's essential.

Premier John Horgan explained the province will look to consider using hybrids of RCMP CounterAttack programs for random road checks to ensure people are traveling for necessary and essential purposes.

Fines are set to be issued for those travelling outside their health authority for recreational reasons.

More details are expected to come from B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on Friday (April 23) when he announces new orders under the Emergency Program Act.

The latest three-day case counts are as follows:

1,027 = Friday to Saturday
933 = Saturday to Sunday
1,000 = Sunday to Monday

Currently, there are 9,953 active cases for COVID-19 in B.C., included 138 people admitted into critical care or ICU among 441 total hospitalizations.

There are 14,711 people being actively monitored by public health officials after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, and 108,919 recoveries.

According to the latest update from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) from Friday (April 16), Northern Health has recorded 23 cases involving COVID-19 variants of concern.

The BCCDC says 21 are linked to the B.1.1.7 variant (U.K.) one B.1.351 (South Africa) and one of the P.1 variant (Brazil).

In education, an up-to-date list of northern B.C. schools marked for COVID-19 exposure events in the month of April is as follows: