Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s top medical health officer, announced there have been three additional deaths in the province from coronavirus; two of them at a North Vancouver care home.

Two of the new deaths were residents in the Lynn Valley Care Centre, which brings the total number of people who have died of coronavirus in the care home to six.

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The other person who died was a man in his 80s, who died in hospital in the Fraser Health Region.

The deaths were announced as Henry declared a public health emergency in the province Tuesday afternoon as the number of coronavirus cases shot up to 186, including 83 new cases.

There are now 116 cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health Region (which includes the North Shore, as well as Vancouver and Richmond) 47 in the Fraser Health Region (which includes Coquitlam and Burnaby), 12 on Vancouver Island, seven in the Interior and four in northern B.C.

One of the reasons for the jump in numbers is that results of many of the tests done in emergency departments and urgent care centres in the Vancouver Coastal Health region have recently come back, said Henry.

“We thought it was increasing gradually but then last Thursday it really went up quite dramatically,” she said. “We will see increased numbers over the next few days as well.”

Henry added, however, “We don’t have widespread community spread of this virus yet.”

There are seven people being treated in hospitals, including four who are in the intensive care unit, said Henry.

Work underway to set up a special COVID-19 care unit at Lions Gate Hospital is part of a plan by health officials to isolate care wards for coronavirus patients and make sure staff working with those patients don’t work with other patients who don’t have the virus.

The Lions Gate Hospital Foundation donated $200,000 on Friday for the purchase of five ventilators and other respiratory equipment.

Henry said seniors are still at the greatest risk from the virus and people over the age of 80 are most likely to have severe illness and die from the disease.

“People in our long-term care homes are very susceptible to this,” she said.

Henry pointed out however that there have also been people in their 80s and 90s who have recovered from the coronavirus in B.C.