Daily cases of COVID-19 remain high in BC as spread widens and active cases head towards 1500 with a number of new deaths recorded this week. This is a real concern as BC is testing less than Alberta (10,000 tests a day compared to BC’s 4000 a day) so the number of people infected with the virus could be much larger and therefore the spread is increasing as not all who have the virus are under monitoring or testing.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

VICTORIA – Daily cases of COVID-19 remain high in BC as spread widens and active cases head towards 1500 with a number of new deaths recorded this week. This is a real concern as BC is testing less than Alberta (10,000 tests a day compared to BC’s 4000 a day) so the number of people infected with the virus could be much larger and therefore the spread is increasing as not all who have the virus are under monitoring or testing.

Health Minister Adrian Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, announced 121 new cases, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 6,162 cases in British Columbia.

"There are 1,233 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 2,792 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and 4,706 people who tested positive have recovered,” they said in a joint statement Friday.

"Currently, 31 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 12 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

"Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 2,077 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 3,201 in the Fraser Health region, 180 in the Island Health region, 451 in the Interior Health region, 174 in the Northern Health region and 79 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

"There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 211 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There has been one new assisted-living facility outbreak at KinVillage in the Fraser Health region. In total, 10 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

"There have been no new community outbreaks, although there continue to be community exposure events.

"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.

"COVID-19 continues to affect our province and this long weekend is no different. Whether you're celebrating the Canucks game tonight or meeting friends for a barbecue or camping, let's make it a safe, small-group long weekend.

"Get outside this weekend and enjoy your time with friends and family and outdoor activities, while protecting the more vulnerable around you.

"We must maintain a very careful balance between fun and caution this long weekend and onwards to the fall.

"Remember, we have a playbook to guide our good times on weekends to keep things fun and safe, and we can't let our end goal out of sight: keeping COVID-19 low and slow. Your actions this weekend and every day make a difference.

"We have the tools and we can make the right choices. To be successful in this next phase, we need to step back to safely move forward. So let's all make choices that will keep our communities, our Elders, our loved-ones and ourselves safe."

Quick Facts:

* Assisted living, long-term care homes and seniors' rental buildings with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks are as follows:

* Vancouver Coastal Health

* Point Grey Private Hospital long-term care facility

* Fraser Health

* KinVillage assisted-living facility

* Bear Creek Villa independent-living facility

* Cherington Place long-term care facility

* Czorny Alzheimer Centre long-term care facility

* Derby Manor independent-living facility

* George Derby Centre long-term care facility

* MSA Manor long-term care facility (second outbreak)

* New Vista Care Home long-term care facility

* Normanna long-term care facility