Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, today (Oct. 29) issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia.

Today, we are reporting 234 new cases, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 14,109 cases in British Columbia.

There are 2,344 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 5,714 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 11,448 people who tested positive have recovered.

Currently, 86 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 24 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 4,588 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 8,036 in the Fraser Health region, 256 in the Island Health region, 734 in the Interior Health region, 406 in the Northern Health region and 89 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 262 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There have been five new health-care facility outbreaks: The Gateway Assisted Living for Seniors, Mayfair Terrace Retirement Residence, Lakeview Care Centre, Louis Brier Home and Hospital, and Yaletown House. The outbreak at Zion Park Manor has been declared over. In total, 25 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility have active outbreaks.

There have been no new community outbreaks. 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.

Fall is a time when many holidays and celebrations occur, whether that is Halloween, Diwali or Remembrance Day. It is a time of cooler weather and increased respiratory illness. This year, we also face the added challenge of COVID-19.

Many of the new cases we have today are directly linked to gatherings, in our homes and elsewhere, that are now resulting in community transmission of COVID-19 in communities across the province.

This Halloween weekend, we need to celebrate in new ways. We need to keep our groups small – in our homes and on the streets.

Trick-or-treaters are reminded to give others the space to stay safe and to respect those homes that are choosing not to participate this year. And we remind everyone that there is a provincial health officer’s order limiting the number of people who can be in your home to your household, plus no more than six.

Despite the best of intentions to maintain our distance and use the layers of protection when going to someone’s home, it can be hard to keep up the precautions when we are talking, eating and drinking together indoors.

Rather, if you are wanting to spend time with a small group of friends, choose a COVID-19 safe space – either outside or a location that has a comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan.

Let’s protect our loved ones, our Elders and our communities and show them we care by staying small – this weekend and every weekend this winter.

Lead image: A sign in Fernie’s Park Place Lodge asking people to stand back and respect social distancing. Carrie Schafer/e-KNOW photo

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