There are now 2,680 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C. after health officials announced 12 new cases Wednesday.
Provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there are 911 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), 1,378 in Fraser Health, 130 on Vancouver Island, 195 in Interior Health and 66 in Northern Health.
There has been one new outbreak at Holy Family Hospital, a long-term care facility in Vancouver. In total, five long-term care or assisted-living facilities continue to have active outbreaks.
There have been no new community outbreaks, and public health teams are providing support for the six ongoing community outbreaks.
While there are still a number of active community outbreaks, Henry said Monday that the outbreaks at Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry and Superior Poultry have now been declared over.
There have been no new deaths. In total, there have been 167 fatalities from COVID-19 in B.C.
There are currently 12 people in acute care in hospital and four are in intensive care.
There are 185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 2,328 people who tested positive have recovered.
“Through our active surveillance and testing, we have recently identified two community clusters of COVID-19 associated with large family connections," said Henry.“ This tells us that our public health teams are quickly identifying new cases. It also tells us that while our overall provincial cases may be low, COVID-19 is active and spreading in our communities.
Henry adds that the risk of transmitting the virus increase when households are brought together, regardless of how many people that may include: “This is why fewer faces and bigger spaces needs to continue to be our guidepost for how we move forward."
Henry emphasizes that if you are someone who works in our health-care system, someone for whom essential travel is required or live in the same household with essential workers, it is very important to continue to limit your other social interactions so you don’t spread the risk around.
“Anyone coming across our border from the United States is coming from a high-risk area and needs to take full precautions to avoid inadvertently spreading the virus to your family or community in Canada," she notes. “If you are returning from university elsewhere in Canada, it is important to monitor yourself closely for symptoms, as some other parts of Canada are also experiencing community clusters and spread.
“A COVID-19 test when you are asymptomatic is ineffective and is not your passport to increase your social circle. Following all of the rules for safe physical distancing and wearing a cloth mask when you can’t keep those distances is.
“Monitor, manage and modify are going to be the keys to managing COVID-19, by keeping our communities safe and protecting the ones we care for most.”
