Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Réka Gustafson, B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer, today (August 21) issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia.

Today, we are announcing 90 new cases, for a total of 4,915 cases in British Columbia.

There are 824 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 2,594 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 3,889 people who tested positive have recovered.

Currently, 13 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, five 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 1,569 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 2,572 in the Fraser Health region, 160 in the Island Health region, 417 in the Interior Health region, 122 in the Northern Health region and 75 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There have been two new COVID-19 related deaths in the Fraser Health region, for a total of 202 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. In total, eight long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility have active outbreaks.

There are no new community outbreaks. However, community exposure events 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 potential exposure occurred and what actions to take – whether you need to self-isolate or monitor for symptoms.

COVID-19 is going to be with us for the foreseeable future. What that means for British Columbians is that we are all learning to live our lives with the virus in our communities.

Public health teams know what they need to do and so do you. We know that with appropriate protective measures, we can reduce the risk of COVID-19 and live our lives.

COVID-19 prevention looks different in different places. In public, around people we do not know, we focus on giving people more space. In workplaces and classrooms where we interact with people we know, keeping our groups smaller, staying home when sick and reducing very close face-to-face contact is the goal.

The public health response is about reducing virus spread by establishing appropriate safety plans in businesses, schools and other settings, detecting and isolating new cases as quickly as possible and containing the spread when clusters occur.

Today, Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, announced new enforcement measures focused on those locations and activities that are known to be at highest risk and the sustained sources for transmission. These measures help to shore up a gap that has emerged.

However, it is important to remember that the people who choose to disregard public health orders are the exception. Rather, we are heartened that the vast majority of people in B.C. are doing their part to protect themselves and each other.

This weekend, take a few minutes to remind yourself of the steps we all take each day and every day. Together, we have the knowledge, we have the skills and the expertise. Let’s continue to protect our most vulnerable, our elders, our communities and ourselves.

Lead image: A business front window on Invermere’s main street. Carrie Schafer/e-KNOW photo

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