Joint statement on B.C.’s COVID-19 response, latest updates
Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Stephen Brown, deputy minister of health, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. Read the full statement here.
– Oct. 16 to 17: 172 new cases, Oct. 17 to 18: 153 new cases and Oct. 18 to 19: further 174 new cases, for a total of 499 new cases, including seven epi-linked cases, total of 11,687 cases in British Columbia.
– 1,639 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 4,028 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, 9,753 people who tested positive have recovered, 67 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 19 of whom are in intensive care and the remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
– Since the start of the pandemic, there have been
- 4,146 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region,
- 6,244 in the Fraser Health region,
- 243 in the Island Health region,
- 611 in the Interior Health region,
- 355 in the Northern Health region and
- 88 cases of people who reside outside of Canada. Please note the data correction in cases from outside of Canada.
– two new COVID-19 related deaths, total of 253 deaths in British Columbia.
– four new health-care facility outbreaks and one new community outbreak at J&L Beef Limited. There continue to be exposure events around the province. Public alerts and notifications are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website and on all health authorities’ websites.
– There continues to be transmission of COVID-19 in many parts of the province. While this is expected, we all need to remain vigilant to slow the spread as much as possible.
– We want to keep as many activities as possible open for all of us and keep our communities safe. This is the balance we are working hard to achieve, and following our safety basics allows us to do just that.
– We want to avoid a rapid increase in new cases that overwhelms the health-care system, making it more difficult to care for those who are unwell – whether from COVID-19 or another illness.
– The best way to do that is to take precautions and use our layers of protection, no matter where we may be.
– Finding that balance also means quickly finding new cases and clusters of COVID-19. Our contact tracing teams are working around the clock to track every new case that emerges. If you are contacted by public health, sharing information about where you have been and who you have seen will ensure one new case does not turn into 100.
– What you do makes a difference to your health, those of your loved ones, colleagues, friends and those you don’t know. Let’s slow the spread and break the chain of transmission.