DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Stephen Brown, Deputy Minister of Health, on Tuesday announced 217 new COVID-19 cases, including two epi-linked cases. The total number of cases is now 13,588.

Fortunately, there were no new COVID-19-related deaths, and the total number of deaths remains 259.

There are 2,322 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 5,101 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 10,954 people who tested positive have recovered.

Currently, 84 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 27 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 4,476 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 7,674 in the Fraser Health region, 250 in the Island Health region, 717 in the Interior Health region, 383 in the Northern Health region and 88 cases of people who reside outside of Canada..

There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at Felburn Care Centre and St. Michael’s Centre. In total, 21 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities 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.

Henry and Brown added: “Always using our layers of protection reduces the potential for the virus to spread and is an important part of our COVID-19 response in B.C.

“In addition to washing our hands often and staying home when ill, our protective layers include limiting our time with people outside of our household, keeping our groups small, giving people the space to stay safe and if that is challenging, using a non-medical mask.

“A mask is especially helpful in public indoor spaces where you don’t know the people around you and the risks they may have.

“As a result, the expectation is that masks will be worn within public areas of health-care facilities, shopping malls, grocery stores, community centres and other public spaces – as you enter, exit and move around.

“Public indoor spaces are quite different from our schools, offices and businesses that have established learning groups and work cohorts, supported by comprehensive COVID-19 safety plans.

“Getting through our COVID-19 storm requires all of us to do our part without exception, so let’s support each other to do the right thing today.”