National

Makeshift COVID hospital to close in Vancouver

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Jul, 2021 03:37 PM

The makeshift hospital at the Vancouver Convention Centre, which was repurposed with COVID-19 overflow beds, is being shut down without ever taking patients.

Vancouver Coastal Health says it has approval from the Health Ministry to close the 271-bed site, one of several alternative care sites established as the threat of COVID-19 loomed last year.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says in a statement it's fortunate the site didn't have to be activated and it's great to see the centre poised to return to its original, vibrant space.

Thanks to everyone who transformed the Van. Convention into an alternate care site. While we did not have to activate the site, your dedication meant that if our hospitals were at capacity, people would have had a safe place to receive health care. https://t.co/VQpUNezQkB
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) July 13, 2021

The announcement comes as COVID-19 hospitalizations trend downward in B.C. with 66 patients currently being treated, including 14 in intensive care.

There were 33 new COVID-19 cases reported on Tuesday, for a total of 145,775 since the pandemic began.

Vancouver Coastal Health says the process to close the makeshift hospital should be complete by Friday, although there are plans to support its remobilization if needed.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Telus sets up mobile cell tower for Lytton area

Telus Corp. says its has deployed emergency communications equipment to support local authorities and emergency crews dealing with the wildfire in Lytton, B.C. Telus is the main wireless provider for the Lytton area, where about 1,000 people fled to safety after the emergency evacuation order was issued this week.

Telus sets up mobile cell tower for Lytton area

Parties pad war chests, readying for campaign

The Conservative return shows that the party pulled in more than $20.6 million in donations from almost 91,000 donors in 2020, down from the over $30.8 million contributed by nearly 124,00 people one year prior.

Parties pad war chests, readying for campaign

Border agency braces for new travel rules Monday

The agency that guards Canada's borders is putting would-be travellers on notice: if you're not eligible to enter the country now, you won't be on Monday.

Border agency braces for new travel rules Monday

Extreme heat puts cannabis farmers on high alert

Canadian cannabis farmers say the extreme heat and wildfires hitting the west coast have them on high alert and are pushing them to change their growing processes.

Extreme heat puts cannabis farmers on high alert

Some remain missing amid Lytton wildfire

The search continues today for multiple residents of a village in British Columbia's Interior that was decimated by a wildfire this week. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth hasn't said how many people from the Lytton, B.C., area are unaccounted for.

Some remain missing amid Lytton wildfire

Fire destroys most buildings in Lytton, B.C.

A village in British Columbia's Interior largely lies in ashes, the province's public safety minister said Thursday as he confirmed that flames have destroyed most buildings in Lytton and left multiple residents unaccounted for.