Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, today (July 24) issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia.

Today, we are reporting 27 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 3,419 cases in British Columbia.

There are 294 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,934 people who tested positive have recovered.

Of the total COVID-19 cases, 12 individuals are hospitalized, three 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 1,057 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,764 in the Fraser Health region, 142 in the Island Health region, 319 in the Interior Health region, 79 in the Northern Health region and 58 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 191 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, one long-term care facility and two acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

There is one new community outbreak on Haida Gwaii, with 13 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date. Of the 13 people who have tested positive, one person has recovered and 12 are active cases. At this time cases are all local residents. While the initial source of transmission is still being investigated, the cases are all epidemiologically linked. Some are related residents who had recently travelled off island, and others are from exposure to known cases.

There also continues to be additional community exposure events throughout the province, including at Fossello’s clothing store in Kelowna. A full listing of community exposure events for each health authority is available through the BC Centre for Disease Control, as well as on health authority websites.

Public health teams are requesting the assistance of anyone who may have been exposed through community exposure to monitor themselves closely for symptoms, minimize time spent with others and get tested promptly if any symptoms arise.

As we all enjoy our summer, we can reduce the potential for COVID-19 to spread by taking the time to assess the risks before spending time with others.

Can you keep a safe distance from others? Are you giving people the space to stay safe? Are you spending a short time together? Are you outside? Are the people you are with in your bubble? These are the questions we all need to ask ourselves.

If you can’t say yes to these questions, then say no to the activity and choose to do something else instead.

In the coming days, a new provincial health officer order will be in place to limit the number of people who can stay at and visit short-term rental accommodations and boat rentals. Whether at home or renting, keeping our groups small will keep all of us safe.

Similar to the case in restaurants, the number of people will be determined by the size of the space to ensure safe social interactions for everyone.

This weekend, be mindful of where you are going and who you are seeing, assess your own risks and take steps to protect yourself and those you care for most. Let’s keep our firewall strong and bend our curve back down.

Lead image: Lussier Hot Springs in Whiteswan Provincial Park remain closed due to the pandemic. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW photo

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