Provincial Health Officer’s orders restricting all gatherings and events have been extended through to January 8 at midnight
DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, on Monday announced 2,020 new cases of COVID-19, including 10 epi-linked cases, since Friday for a total of 38,152 cases in British Columbia.
They said: “Today, we are reporting on three 24-hour periods. From December 4 to 5, we had 647 new cases. From December 5 to 6, we had 726 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we have had a further 647 new cases.”
They added: “There have been 35 new COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 527 deaths in British Columbia.”
There are 9,380 active cases of COVID-19 in the province with 359 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 77 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Currently, 10,747 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 27,287 people who tested positive have recovered.
Since Friday, there have been 304 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,362 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 45 in the Island Health region, 203 in the Interior Health region, 106 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
There have been six new health-care facility outbreaks at Bradley Centre, Chilliwack Lifestyles, Crofton Manor, Lakeshore Care Centre, McKinney Place and Village by the Station. The outbreaks at Hawthorne Seniors Care Community, Lakeview Care Centre, Sunset Manor, Valley Haven Care Home and Ridge Meadows Hospital are over.
There has been one new community outbreak at a mink farm in the Fraser Health region. A team from public health, WorkSafeBC and the Ministry of Agriculture are on site and doing active surveillance. Strict controls are in place for access to and from the farm.
Henry and Dix said: “As we all do our part now with COVID-19, we can be encouraged to know that the start of vaccine availability is days away. This is a welcome milestone that we can all celebrate.
“The orders that we have had in place have started to have an impact on the transmission of the virus in British Columbia. However, transmission remains high and we need to continue our efforts to reduce social interactions and stop the spread. The provincial health officer’s orders restricting all gatherings and events have today been extended through to January 8, 2021, at midnight. This includes gatherings in people’s homes and in public venues.
“The same requirements and exemptions from the published orders continue to apply, with one new change: drive-through and drive-in to drop off people and leave events, as well as drive-in and stay in your car events to a maximum of 50 cars are now allowed. To read the orders, visit:Â
“At this time, we are also strongly recommending against any travel other than what is essential for work or medical care.
“The order extension and travel requirement are necessary steps to help us get through the remainder of the year and protect those who are most vulnerable.
“We understand that, for many of us, this will mean celebrating the important December holidays in a different, smaller way than what we are used to. We can still be festive, but let’s ensure it is only with our immediate household.
“As hard as this may be, let’s remember that the sacrifices we make now will protect our loved ones and countless others throughout our province. Your efforts and sacrifices are making a difference.
“Staying small and staying local over the holidays is what we all need to do. It will help to ease the pressure going into the year ahead and will also help to protect our province until vaccines are widely available.”
For updated provincial health officer’s (PHO) orders and new guidance:
Learn More:
For details on new restrictions, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions
For updated PHO orders, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus
