In a worst-case scenario, we have the capacity in hospitals to make it work. That’s what health officials are saying on if the COVID-19 pandemic in B.C. reached a level like Italy, although modelling shows we aren’t expected to get anywhere close to that.

Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says we are trending closer to South Korea, which was able to flatten the curve before cases grew expontially.

“And we are trending up, clearly, and we know that, becuase we have new cases everyday, and those have increased in the past couple of weeks. But we are, maybe, starting to bend a little bit, here.”

Henry says without measures like social distancing and limits to gatherings, modelling suggests the rate of cases in B.C. would be nearly double.

Right now, it’s at about 130 cases per one million Canadians, and, modelling says it would’ve been at about 215 cases per million people – and growing rapidly – without any measures in place.

Meanwhile, the province says there are 348 ventilators available right now for COVID-19 patients at its 17 largest hospitals, and it says many more are available if needed. It says an extra 101 ventilators will be available shortly, to be distributed province-wide.

There are more than 5,600 acute care beds in B.C. and more than 3,900 dedicated for potential COVID-19 cases.

In the Interior Health Authority, there are 77 ventilators available, with more to come, and 158 critical care beds that could take patients who need a ventilator. There are 1,007 acute care beds available today across the IHA.

More to come. Watch this story for updates.

Graphing from health officials shows B.C. is averaging about 130 #covid19 cases per 1 million people. @DrBonnieHenry says without measures in place (bans on gatherings of 50+, physical distancing), then we’d be at about 215 cases per million people today. #Kamloops pic.twitter.com/fTvqgqXXty

— Colton Davies (@ColtonDavies_) March 27, 2020