Premier John Horgan announced the addition of a new Urgent Primary Care Centre scheduled to open in Victoria next week.
The facility will be opening at a James Bay location near the B.C. Legislature building on Tuesday, April 28th.
This is the fourth new UPCC opening in B.C. this month, with three others located in Vernon, Abbotsford, and Castlegar as announced by Health Minister Adrian Dix on Tuesday.
Urgent Primary Care Centres provide access to same-day, urgent, non-emergency health care, including in the evening and on weekends, offering an alternative to emergency rooms in cases where patients do not necessarily need to hospital care for things like sprains and minor cuts and burns.
Currently there are two UPCCs in the Island Health region — one in Nanaimo and one in Langford. The facility opening on Monday in James Bay will be the first of its kind in Victoria.
According to Premier Horgan, the availability of these additional care facilities are particularly important during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
He also alluded to higher numbers of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in B.C. during Wednesday’s Ministry update that will be made by Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister Adrian Dix at 3 p.m.
Horgan says these numbers will be skewed by an outbreak detected at a poultry processing and packaging plant. United Poultry Company, in Vancouver. This outbreak was caused by employees who were sick but still showed up to work for fear of wage loss.
This outbreak and the outbreak at the Mission correctional facility act as a signal that B.C. should get too complacent, says the Premier.
He added that he intends to provide an update on how the province will start the process of economic recovery sooner than the middle of May, but needs to first ensure workplace safety in light of the poultry plant outbreak.
See all the latest updates about the global COVID-19 pandemic on Vancouver Island
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the coronavirus pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 2,621,444.
Over 182,900 people have died from the illness and 714,339 have made a full recovery.
