There are now 2,573 cases of COVID-19 in B.C. after health officials announced 11 new cases Saturday.
According to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, to date, there have been 902 positive cases in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), 1,285 in Fraser Health, 127 on Vancouver Island, 195 in Interior Health and 64 in Northern Health.
No new outbreaks in health care facilities were announced Saturday, while two more have been declared over, including one of B.C.'s "first and most difficult long-term care facility outbreaks," at Haro Park, said Henry.
"This is very good news, and I'm relieved."
In total, 13 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care unit continue to deal with active outbreaks.
For the second day in a row, there are no new deaths to report. That means the province's total number of fatalities is holding steady at 164 fatalities.
Currently, there are 35 people receiving care for COVID-19 in hospital, and five people in intensive care.
There are 228 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, while 2,181 people who tested positive have now fully recovered.
Earlier this month, the province allowed many businesses that had been closed due to the pandemic to begin the process of "safely reopening." The public health officer's revised orders can be found on the province's website.
With B.C. now two weeks into phase two of its restart plan, schools are set to reopen for in-class learning beginning Monday, until the end of the school year.
"I know this is very exciting, and I know for some people they are thinking about this with trepidation, and that is fine," Henry said on Saturday. "We are ready for this, and we are reopening schools because we believe it is safe to do so."
But as parents begin returning to work and planning for the summer, sending children to overnight summer camps once the school year comes to an end will not be an option. Today, Henry announced a new provincial health officer order she has implemented restricting the operation of overnight sleepaway camps for children and youth.
"Such camps often have large numbers of children coming from many different areas - campers and counsellors - and they often take place in more remote areas," Henry explained. "Physical distancing is very much a challenge in these situations. I know that this is a disappointment for many groups who are used to having that important part of their summer, but I would encourage everybody to focus on arranging day camps where staying outside in smaller groups is far easier to do, and will be safe."
She continued, "I'll remind people that this is not forever, but it is this summer, that we're in a very unusual situation around the world. Globally, we're having to do things differently this year."
This is the final weekend to complete B.C.'s province-wide 'Your story, our future' survey, as well. The deadline is Sunday, May 31 at midnight. The survey "is an opportunity to share your personal experience with COVID-19 so far. Take a few minutes to join the 286,000 British Columbians who have already completed the survey, or help someone else to do the same," Henry has said.
“The information you share is incredibly important and so is ensuring your confidentiality and data security. The survey has stringent security and privacy measures built in to make sure you can provide your input with the assurance of the security we all expect and need." If you have any questions about the survey, send them to: covid19.speak@bccdc.ca
“Our individual circumstances are unique, but the actions we can take to protect each other and ourselves are the same. We have made great strides to flatten our curve and we must continue to work together to keep it there.”
- With files from Elana Shepert.
