B.C.’s Health Minister says of the more than 11,000 elective surgeries that have so far been postponed across the province because of COVID-19, 2,945 were in the Interior Health area.

Adrian Dix says these are all medically necessary surgeries that were scheduled between March 17 and April 2, but adds it has led to nearly 4,400 empty beds across the province.

“1,208 are hip and knee replacements, 240 are dental surgeries which are essential surgeries if they are required in an acute care setting, and 7,801 are other surgeries,” said Dix. “I just wanted to say to people who are in need of these surgeries, you are still on the list.”

It’s unclear how many of those were to happen at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

Dix says the province does about 16,000 surgeries in so-called private clinics that are paid for by the public healthcare system. He says those partnerships will continue to ensure the backlog is cleared once the pandemic passes.

“We’re committed to getting back to these procedures,” Dix added. “I know everyone involved in surgical care in B.C. – the anesthesiologists, the surgeons, the nurses, everyone involved is committed to doing, ensuring that we have access in the future.”

“We are going to commit to supporting you, just as we need to support right now, the fight against COVID-19.”

As of Saturday, there were 149 people in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C., of which 68 are in the ICU.