COVID-19 update for March 10: Four new deaths, 336 new cases announced | Masks not required on board Metro Vancouver transit | Vaccination card not re

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Here's your daily update with everything you need to know on the coronavirus situation in B.C.

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Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the coronavirus situation in B.C. for March 10, 2022.

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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

Here are the latest figures given on March 10:

• Total number of confirmed cases: 351,751• New cases: 336• Total deaths: 2,932 (Four reported in past 24 hours)• Hospitalized cases: 388• Intensive care: 52• Total vaccinations: 4,521,678 received first dose (90.7% of eligible pop. 5+); 4,316,745 second doses (86.6%); 2,613,270 third doses (58.2% of those 12+)• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 14

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IN-DEPTH: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021 | in 2020

B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

• COVID-19: B.C.’s vaccine passport is here and this is how it works

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

• 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. Four new deaths, 336 new cases announced

Four new deaths and 336 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in B.C., according to health officials.

Three of the new deaths were in the Fraser Health region, while one was in the Interior. Since the start of the pandemic, 2,932 people have died.

Meanwhile, 90.7 per cent of those age five and up have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 86.6 per cent have received their second dose. In addition, 56.4 per cent of those eligible age 12 and up have received a third dose.

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To date, there have been 351,751 cases in B.C. and there remains 388 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Another 52 are in intensive care as a result of the virus.

—Stephanie Ip

Masks not required on board Metro Vancouver transit

TransLink will no longer require masks on board buses, SkyTrains and SeaBuses beginning Friday, after the province announced B.C.’s mask mandate would be repealed as of midnight.

“TransLink customers and employees are welcome to continue wearing masks on-board transit vehicles and at transit stations, depending on their own level of comfort,” read a statement issued by TransLink.

Customers and employees on board HandyDart, however, will be required to continue wearing masks. HandyDart is a service for those unable to navigate TransLink’s usual modes of transportation and often transports those heading to medical appointments.

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“We will consult with HandyDart customers and stakeholders, and work with the Provincial Health Office to identify when the appropriate time would be to lift this requirement,” read the statement.

While the mandate is lifted as of Friday, mask-related signage on TransLink’s system may take some time to update or remove.

—Stephanie Ip

COVID study finds 18 million deaths, three times official tally

The pandemic’s death toll may be three times higher than official COVID-19 records suggest, according to a study that found stark differences across countries and regions.

As many as 18.2 million people probably died from COVID in the first two years of the pandemic, researchers found in the first peer-reviewed global estimate of excess deaths. They pointed to a lack of testing and unreliable mortality data to explain the discrepancy with official estimates of roughly 5.9 million deaths.

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“At the global level, this is quite the biggest mortality shock since the Spanish flu,” said Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, where the study was conducted. Covid drove a 17% jump in deaths worldwide, he said in an interview. The flu pandemic that began in 1918 killed at least 50 million people.

The findings, published in the Lancet medical journal, focused on excess deaths to avoid under-counting and assess the extent of the pandemic’s devastation. While deaths continued to accumulate, the scientists compared the mortality between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2021 to comparable data for the prior years.

The evidence suggests the mortality surge is a direct result of COVID-19, the researchers said. But some deaths may also have occurred indirectly, they said, caused by a lack of access to health care and other essential services during the pandemic, or from behavioral shifts that led to suicide or drug abuse.

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“Studies from several countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands, suggest COVID-19 was the direct cause of most excess deaths,” said Haidong Wang, an associate professor of health metric sciences at the Seattle-based institute, in a statement. “Understanding the true death toll from the pandemic is vital for effective public health decision-making.”

— Bloomberg

Mask mandate repealed as of March 11, vaccination card not required as of April 8

B.C. health officials are announcing today that the province’s mask mandate is repealed as of March 11 and the province’s vaccination card program is scrapped as of April 8.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on March 11, the order restricting overnight and youth camps is also lifted, while capacity limits on faith gatherings are also removed.

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On March 18, long-term care visitation rules will also be relaxed and returning to where guidelines were before Omicron.

Effective April 8 at 12:01 a.m., the province’s vaccination card program is no longer required at various businesses or facilities, and businesses will move from a COVID-19 safety plan to a communicable disease plan. The vaccination requirement at university dorms is also lifted as of April 8.

Guidelines for child care and K to 12 are also being revised, though the updated guidelines for schools won’t take effect until after spring break.

Dr. Bonnie Henry clarified that dropping the mask mandate did not mean masks would disappear entirely from all venues. They will still be required in some high-risk settings.

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“For example, for health care settings physician’s offices … but in most low risk locations, it will now be an option and no longer a necessity,” said Henry, noting that B.C. is entering a transitional phase where people will move at their own pace.

“So while masks are no longer required or mandated under an order as of tomorrow, some people in some locations will continue to use masks personally or in their business — and that’s OK, we need to support that.

“We need to recognize that we all have our own risks and our own vulnerabilities and particularly if you are older, if you’re immune compromised, you may still wear a mask in some locations, especially if you’re inside, around a large number of people that you don’t know.”

While masks won’t be mandated by the province, they are still encouraged in places where crowding is a challenge such as on board public transit and B.C. Ferries. Some workplaces may also deem it necessary for the safety of their staff to continue requiring masks.

More to come.

Watch the update here:

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Dr. Bonnie Henry had said last week the province was better positioned to consider removing pandemic restrictions before students begin spring break on Monday.

She said hospitalization numbers were down, immunity from vaccines was up and more at-home rapid tests were being distributed.

But Henry has also said there was still a lot of the virus circulating in some parts of the province.

Unlike some other provinces, B.C. still requires masks in indoor public places and vaccine cards must be shown.

—Stephanie Ip / The Canadian Press

Rapid test kits available for British Columbians ages 50-59

B.C. is expanding access to free rapid test kits available in pharmacies.

Starting Friday, people ages 50 to 59 will be able to pick up a rapid test kit containing five tests for at-home use from participating pharmacies.

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Anyone 50 and older can pick up one free kits every 28 days. The tests are meant for people to use at home if they develop symptoms of COVID-19.

To date, pharmacies have dispensed more than 1.3 million tests, said Health Minister Adrian Dix.

As of March 9, B.C. has received more than 35 million rapid tests. It is expecting about three million tests each week in the coming weeks.

Poll suggests more than half of B.C. residents felt their life was derailed by the pandemic

More than half of British Columbians felt like their life was derailed by the pandemic, according to a new poll Thursday.

The Angus Reid Institute poll found 46 per cent of British Columbians surveyed said the pandemic had a “significant” affect on their life, while seven per cent said that impact was “severe.” That compares with 44 per cent who said the pandemic was a “minor” burden and four per cent who felt there was no disruption.

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The polling numbers were similar for the country overall, with 47 per cent of Canadians calling their pandemic-related disruption “significant,” and 11 per cent describing it as “severe.”

—Tiffany Crawford

Fewer than 900 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered over past day

There were 891 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in B.C. over the past day, as the percentage of people aged five and over in the province who have had a first dose remained steady at 90.7 per cent.

In total there were 6,043 doses administered either as first, second or third doses.

The B.C. Ministry of Health reported 14 deaths in the past 24 hours, with that total now at 2,929. The number of people in hospital either because of COVID-19 or with the disease continues to fall — with 405 cases in hospital on Tuesday, including 58 in intensive care.

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On Tuesday there were 5,604 PCR tests performed — about a quarter of B.C.’s testing capacity — with just over seven per cent of those tests coming back positive.

Ontario to eliminate most mask mandates on March 21

Ontario students won’t have to wear masks when they return to school after March break, the province announced Wednesday.

Most mask requirements will be dropped as of March 21, with remaining mandates for higher risk settings such as long-term care, hospitals and transit, to be dropped on April 27.

Provincial officials said the move — as case counts and other key indicators are improving — are part of learning to live with and manage COVID-19. During a technical briefing, officials acknowledged that COVID-19 is likely to return next fall and winter or even sooner if a new evasive variant emerges.

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—Postmedia

Ontario to end all COVID public health measures on April 27

Ontario is removing mask mandates on March 21 in most settings, including schools, and is ending all remaining public health measures, directives and orders on April 27.

The province says improving health indicators, such as a stable COVID-19 test positivity rate and declining hospitalizations, as well as Ontario’s high vaccination rates and the availability of antiviral treatments, allow for these steps.

The announcement comes as 1,974 new COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday, though the province’s chief medical officer of health has said that limits on testing mean that the true number is likely 10 times that amount, or more than 19,000 cases.

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Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said Wednesday that the peak of the Omicron variant is behind us and the province has been able to move “cautiously and gradually” through its reopening plan.

—The Canadian Press

Shanghai residents bristle as authorities turn COVID screws

An uncompromising response to a spike in local COVID-19 cases in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai is testing the resolve of residents, with a wave of school closures and other draconian measures causing disruptions throughout the city.

China’s health authority said another 76 asymptomatic local infections were found in Shanghai on Wednesday, and authorities have been sealing off schools, residential compounds and office blocks as part of a “dynamic clearance” approach aimed at shutting down each new transmission route as soon as it arises.

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China has insisted its “zero-COVID” strategy is cost-effective and saves lives, even as other countries seek to coexist with a virus that has killed 6 million people worldwide.

But there are signs that after more than two years of battling the pandemic, the public is starting to bristle.

Read the full story here.

—Reuters

DEATHS BY HEALTH AUTHORITY WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS CANADA 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

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