There are now 2,255 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C., after health officials announced 23 new cases Wednesday.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there are 852 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), 1,046 in Fraser Health, 124 on Vancouver Island, 179 in Interior Health and 54 in Northern Health.
There are no new outbreaks in a long-term care facilities. Currently, there are 17 active outbreaks in long-term facilities and five active acute care facilities in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions. 17 outbreaks have been declared over, including the Lynn Valley Care Centre, which was one of the first major outbreaks.
The outbreak at the Mission federal correctional institute in the Fraser Valley has remained steady at 134 cases. The number of positive COVID-19 is 121 inmates and 13 staff. An investigation is going and the health authority expects more people may develop symptoms in the coming days and weeks.
There continues to be seven positive cases at the Fraser Valley Poultry plant, and 55 people have tested positive in the ongoing outbreak at Superior Poultry, a chicken processing plant in Coquitlam. There are 35 positive cases related to the initial outbreak announced a couple of weeks ago at United Poultry Company Ltd., a Vancouver processing plant. Investigations are ongoing at all plants.
There are 15 positive cases of COVID-19 connected to the Kearl Lake plant in Alberta and additional family members. Anyone who is returning from the plant is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
There have been three new deaths, for a total of 124 fatalities in the province.
There are currently 74 people in acute care in hospital and 19 are in critical care.
1,494 people have fully recovered and are no longer in isolation.
"It is kindness that will get us through this."
“We are not yet ready to make any changes to the measures we have in place – just this week, new outbreaks have emerged. Without continued vigilance, hot spots will quickly flare," remarked Henry.
“We must chart a safe path forward together – one that will protect our province and give us the confidence that we can stay safe while increasing our social connections."
“As Premier John Horgan has said, finding the right balance in this next phase of COVID-19 requires all us to work together, to follow our playbook principles and remember the basics of keeping a safe physical distance from others, with fewer faces and open spaces.
“We must also continue to show kindness and compassion to those around us, as we remain 100% committed. It is in all of our hands. Let’s remember to wash them.”
Now, and as the respiratory season begins in the fall, Henry adds that people need to be very vigilant about staying home if they have any type of illness. Further, she states that people must continue to think about - "Few faces and big spaces."
