The rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in B.C. continues.
In today’s update, the province announced 139 new cases, including seven epi-linked ones.
Provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry says we need to push the COVID-19 curve back down and we have the knowledge, the tools and resources to do just that.
“Always using your layers of protection and choosing to stick with your ‘safe six’ will help all of us this weekend and every weekend ahead,” she said, in a joint statement with health minister Adrian Dix.
“The cases we are seeing today are a direct result of how we spent our Labour Day long weekend. Let’s break the chain of transmission and turn this trend around.”
This brings British Columbia’s total to 7,842 cases.
Of those, there are 1,803 active ones, while 3,075 are being actively monitored after being exposed to known cases.
On a bright note, 5,797 people who tested positive have recovered.
There are 59 patients in hospital with COVID-19, 20 of whom are in intensive care.
The remaining people with the virus are recovering at home in self-isolation.
There were no new cases announced in the Island Health region on Friday.
Sadly, there were three new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 223 in our province.
Meanwhile, contact tracing efforts continue.
Alerts are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website, as well as on health authorities’ websites, providing details on where the potential exposure occurred and what actions to take – whether you need to self-isolate or monitor for symptoms.
For schools, public health teams will contact people through contact tracing. Schools will continue to issue alerts when a school exposure has occurred and action is required. Supporting these protocols, the BCCDC website and health authorities are also publishing notifications.
