There are now 4,196 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C. after health officials announced 85 new cases Wednesday.
Two of the new cases are epidemiologically linked.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there are 1,273 cases in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health (VCH), 2,203 in Fraser Health, 150 on Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Island, 394 in Interior Health and 104 in Northern Health.
Additionally, there have been 72 cases of COVID-19 in B.C. of people who reside outside of Canada.
There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks in the region. In total, seven long-term care or assisted living facilities and one acute care facility have active outbreaks.
There are no new community outbreaks. However, there continue to be community exposure events; including ones in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health and Interior Health, and on flights into and out of British Columbia.
There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 196 deaths in British Columbia.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, eight individuals are hospitalized, five of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
There are 531 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,469 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.
“The pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for our province. And today we are reporting the third highest number of new cases we have seen in a day since the pandemic began. The majority of these cases are young people in the Lower Mainland and their exposures have been at events in the community. The cases we are seeing today reflect exposures from a week to 10 days ago. A significant number of cases are also linked to travel from out of province," said Henry.
“We need to refocus on measures to flatten the curve of infection and protect British Columbians as we help our province recover. One of the most effective ways to keep people safe is through contact tracing, which starts with each person who has tested positive for COVID-19 understanding who their contacts may be to provide appropriate follow up and stop further transmission.
“To support the public health teams who are doing this important work, the Province is hiring approximately 500 new health professionals to bolster our contact tracing capacity across British Columbia.
“We are watching the cases climb, which is concerning. We need everyone to recommit to using the skills we’ve learned. Keep gatherings small, have a designated ‘contact keeper,’ limit time with others, maintain physical distance and always stay home if you’re feeling unwell.
“We must all keep working together to protect people’s health, homes and livelihoods, and to get our province back on track. We are all in this together, so let’s continue holding the line.”
