Coronavirus: Everything you need to know in Vancouver today

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Each day in Canada, a lot of news regarding COVID-19 comes out nationally and locally.

Now, we’re bringing you the top coronavirus headlines from Vancouver and across Canada all together in one place on a daily basis, to help you digest all the information and stay in the know with the biggest stories and developments.

Top COVID-19 stories for April 14 in Vancouver

Travellers now required to present official self-isolation plan upon returning to Canada

Early this morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government will begin implementing stronger quarantine measures for those arriving from abroad. Effective at midnight on Tuesday, the prime minister said that anyone returning to Canada who is asymptomatic will have to have a “credible quarantine plan” or they will be required to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days. This follows BC, which instituted its own legislation on April 8 requiring returning travellers to have a self-isolation plan in place. The new measures will be updated to the current Quarantine Act, which came into effect on March 25.

Health Canada approves new rapid coronavirus testing kit

Health Canada has given its stamp of approval on a Canadian bioscience company’s fast, portable COVID-19 testing kits. The device is made by Ottawa’s Spartan Bioscience and consists of a portable DNA analyzer known as the Spartan Cube, which is the same size as a coffee cup. The Cube examines patients with Spartan’s COVID-19 test cartridges and proprietary swabs and provides results under an hour. The Cube conveniently allows testing to be done in non-laboratory settings such as airports, border crossings, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, and in remote communities.

New cases, three more deaths announced in BC

Here in BC, health officials announced 27 new test-positive coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Tuesday afternoon. During a press conference, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the total number of recorded cases in the province now sits at 1,517, and the total number of deaths now sits at 72. Broken down by health region, Henry said there are 658 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 601 in Fraser Health, 89 on Vancouver Island, 141 in Interior Health, and 28 in Northern Health. The number of long-term care homes in the province with a patient or member of staff who has tested positive is at 21.

Looking for more information and further updates? You can view all the day’s headlines in real-time here.