ADRIAN Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, on Tuesday announced 13 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), for a total of 3,128 cases in British Columbia.

There were no new COVID-19-related deaths. There has a been a total of 189 deaths in the province during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are 209 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,730 people who tested positive have recovered.

Of the total COVID-19 cases, 14 individuals are hospitalized, 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 1,015 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,649 in the Fraser Health region, 135 in the Island Health region, 212 in the Interior Health region, 65 in the Northern Health region and 52 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

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

There have been no new community outbreaks and there is one active community outbreak at Krazy Cherry Farm in the Interior Health region. Other community exposure events continue to occur, with public alerts issued as required.

Dix and Henry added: “As evidenced by the number of new cases of COVID-19 in recent days, the potential for new COVID-19 cases goes up with every increase in our activity.

“Public health teams are actively working to manage cases and clusters as they emerge and keep new cases low and slow.

“The first incubation period since Canada Day is now complete, which means we must all have a heightened awareness to any symptoms and redoubling our efforts to stay safe.

“We can be active and spend time with our close contacts, but we have to do that safely.

“You may not know about the health concerns of your friends, but you can take precautions to protect them by remembering that no matter where you may go, you bring your risk with you and you share it with those around you.

“COVID-19 symptoms can be mild, making it very easy to spread the virus to those around us. That is why it is so important to be 100% healthy before we step outside our door.

“If you are not feeling well in any way, stay home and stay away from others. This is very important whether you are at home or travelling.

“Let’s recommit to the basics of fewer faces, bigger spaces. As much as possible, we need to stay away from closed spaces, crowds and close contact with others. To do this, keep your group small, stay outside as much as possible and maintain a safe physical distance from everyone other than those in your bubble.

“British Columbians have sacrificed much to flatten our curve. Let’s not lose sight of the effort we have all put in.

“Pause, assess and take steps to address. Think about how you are feeling, be aware of the risks you are exposing yourself to and the risks you are sharing with others and importantly, use your layers of protection for yourself and those around you.

“Let’s do the right thing for ourselves, our loved ones and our communities and keep our province safe.”