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B.C.’s provincial health officer has ordered the closure of all "personal services" across the province, effectively shuttering businesses like salons, spas, massage parlours and tattoo shops if they haven’t done so already.
Their closure is necessary, according provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, because of the close contact employees and clients have with one another.
As of Saturday afternoon, at least one of the Tri-Cities had come out saying it will enforce the new mandate. An announcement on the city of Port Coquitlam’s website said staff will be "working proactively to monitor and ensure that all Port Coquitlam personal services are complying with this announcement."
The latest set of mandated closures came with the announcement that the province has confirmed another 76 cases of COVID-19. Another person has also died from the pathogen at the Lynn Valley Care home, bringing the provincial total to 10 dead and 424 confirmed positive.
The spike in cases this week is partly due to the province working to process a backlog of tests, said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
“[That spike] is not a reflection of when people got sick, it's a reflection of when the test got reported," she said. "Even if the test is not back, people are being isolated, people are being put into self-isolation, or if they need treatment, are being hospitalized."
Henry said backlog processing should be completed by either this weekend or early next week, adding the province had "some challenges" when expanding testing to different laboratories
So far, over over 17,000 tests have been completed in B.C., and Henry said Saturday that several thousand people are being tested per day.
This week also saw the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a Tri-City senior’s care facility. A member of the staff at Dufferin Care Centre in Coquitlam tested positive for the virus Thursday night, March 19. That person is said to be at home in self-isolation.
Dr. Martin Lavoie, chief medical officer with Fraser Health, said officials are working with employees at the Retirement Concepts-owned long-term seniors facility to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the virus. He added that care home residents who have been in contact with the staff member are also being isolated.
“At the moment, the investigation is ongoing,” Lavoie said.
— with files from Kristen Clarke and Gary McKenna
Read more of our COVID-19 coverage here.
