“It is important for all of us to think about our cumulative interactions. If you are in a busy workplace or have kids in school, then it is all the more important to limit your time with others elsewhere”

DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Stephen Brown, Deputy Minister of Health, on Tuesday announced 549 new cases of COVID-19, including five epi-linked case, since last Friday in British Columbia. The total number of cases now stands at 10,734.

They said: “Today, we are announcing four 24-hour reporting periods. In the first reporting period from October 9 to 10, we had 170 new cases. From October 10 to 11, we had 159 new cases. From October 11 to 12, we had 119 cases and in the last 24 hours, we have had a further 101 new cases.”

The increase in cases is in part a result of a recent testing backlog, which was cleared with extra lab processing over the weekend. While this has meant an increase in the overall number of confirmed positive cases, the active cases and percentage positive remain stable.

There have been five new COVID-19-related deaths. The total number of deaths now stands at 250 deaths in the province.

There are 1,476 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 3,618 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and 8,974 people who tested positive have recovered.

Currently, 77 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 3,892 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 5,595 in the Fraser Health region, 235 in the Island Health region, 582 in the Interior Health region, 341 in the Northern Health region and 89 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There have been four new health-care facility outbreaks. These are located at PICS assisted-living facility, Chartwell Carrington House assisted- and independent-living facility, Weinberg Residence long-term care facility and Yaletown House long-term care facility. The outbreaks at Cherington Place and Evergreen Hamlets have been declared over. In total, 17 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and three acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

There have been no new community outbreaks. However, 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: “Physical activity is very important to our overall health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, but equally important is the need to ensure we are staying active, safely.

“As recreational sports like hockey and youth soccer return, we have seen an increase in COVID-19 exposures. In some cases, sport facilities have been closed.

“Like many other activities that have restarted, provincial sports organizations and sports facilities require COVID-19 safety plans to ensure a safe return to sport. Similar to the approach in the recent NHL playoffs, the plans have prioritized the players over the spectators, with restrictions in place in arenas and on the sidelines.

“We have to remember that spending time socializing or cheering with other parents and fans before, during and after games, increases the risk of transmission and exposure for you and your family.

“As much as we want to see the winning goal or celebrate the perfect pass after the game, we need to ensure we are keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe by always following our COVID-19 safety basics.

“It is important for all of us to think about our cumulative interactions. If you are in a busy workplace or have kids in school, then it is all the more important to limit your time with others elsewhere.

“Each day that you choose to do the right thing, you are helping to protect our communities and keeping important activities and places open and safe. Just as we all did this past weekend, let’s continue to find new ways to support each other and show we care – at a safe distance.”