The backlog caused by a two-month delay in elective surgeries from the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to take up to two years to clear in B.C.

Health officials say elective surgeries will resume on May 18, and by June 15 operating rooms in B.C. hospitals will be running at full capacity.

It says between March 16 and May 18, there will have been about 30,000 “lost cases,” with 14,000 elective surgeries delayed and another 16,000 surgeries staying on the wait list, which would’ve been scheduled had it not been for the pandemic. There are now 93,000 people on the wait list in B.C. for elective surgeries.

It says to make up for the backlog operating rooms will be performing surgeries in the evenings and on Saturdays and Sundays, from June 15 to October 15, and says new OR rooms will be opened wherever possible.

Health officials say there are 1,331 full-time-equivalent operating room nurses in B.C., as well as 1,073 part-time and casual OR nurses who will be asked to work extended hours. There are also 1,550 operating room nurses who are set to graduate, and the province expects to hire all of them right away.

The 17-24-month timeline to make up the backlog in cases also notes that there could be a “second wave” of COVID-19 cases in B.C. in the fall, and says it’s yet to be seen how that could add to the backlog.

The cost for this year alone to make up the backlog of elective surgeries will be $250 million dollars, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix. Nearly 75 per cent of those costs are expected to be for staffing.

More to come. Watch this story for updates.