This week saw three out of four days of less than a 100 cases of COVID-19, a somewhat positive sign  but there have been three deaths this week and BC is a crucial time to clamp down on the virus before the fall flu season. Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, and Stephen Brown, deputy minister of health, announced 98 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 8,641 cases in British Columbia.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

VICTORIA – This week saw  three out of four days of less than a 100 cases of COVID-19, a somewhat positive sign  but there have been three deaths this week and BC is a crucial time to clamp down on the virus before the fall flu season.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, and Stephen Brown, deputy minister of health, announced 98 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 8,641 cases in British Columbia.

"There are 1,349 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 3,533 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 7,036 people who tested positive have recovered,” they said in a joint statement Friday.

"Currently, 62 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 19 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

"Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 3,127 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 4,412 in the Fraser Health region, 204 in the Island Health region, 522 in the Interior Health region, 289 in the Northern Health region and 87 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

"There has been one new COVID-19 related death in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, for a total of 230 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 health-care facility outbreak at the Peace Portal Seniors Village and the outbreak at Surrey Memorial Hospital has been declared over. In total, 10 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and four acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

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

"Public alerts and school notifications 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 to self-isolate or monitor for symptoms.

"Our community wellness during COVID-19 is about keeping new cases low and manageable, as well maintaining our important connections with friends, family and neighbours in a way that doesn't put ourselves or those around us at risk.

"With the arrival of the cooler weather, now is the time for all of us take a step back from connecting in person to staying connected in other, safer ways.

"Stepping back from our social interactions does not mean losing touch. Rather, you can continue to reach out to friends near and far with the many tools we have available to us to connect virtually.

"This weekend, do your part by making safe choices, using our COVID-19 safety basics and doing all we can to keep our friends, family and communities safe."