Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Stephen Brown, deputy minister of health, today (Sept. 29) issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia.

Today, we are announcing 105 new cases, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 9,013 cases in British Columbia.

There are 1,268 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 3,337 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 7,485 people who tested positive have recovered.

Currently, 69 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 20 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 3,286 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 4,594 in the Fraser Health region, 206 in the Island Health region, 531 in the Interior Health region, 309 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 Fraser Health, for a total of 234 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 Haro Park Centre long-term care facility in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. In total, 14 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and three acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

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

Public alerts and school notifications are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website, and on all health authorities’ websites, providing details on where the potential exposure occurred and what actions to take – whether to self-isolate or monitor for symptoms.

This year is unique for all of us, and COVID-19 has required that we connect and show we care in new and different ways.

We have had to change our special celebrations and gatherings to keep the people we care about safe. This same approach is how we need to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Rather than travelling to see friends or hosting a large family dinner, make it small this year and plan to connect virtually instead.

Although this may not be what we want to do, let’s not lose sight of the fact that by making these sometimes difficult choices now, we will be healthier and stronger tomorrow. By choosing to stay home and stay small, we are reducing the potential for transmission of COVID-19 and protecting the people in our family and community who are most at risk.

Keeping a safe physical distance, visiting from afar, using our layers of protection and always remembering our safety basics is how we show we care. Let’s do the right thing and support those around us to do the same.

Lead image: Signage at an ordering counter in a Creston restaurant. Carrie Schafer/e-KNOW photo

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