HEALTH Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Wednesday announced 21 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 3,149 cases in British Columbia.

There have been no new COVID-19 related deaths, and the total number of deaths in the province during the pandemic stands at 189.

There are 207 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,753 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 1,023 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,659 in the Fraser Health region, 135 in the Island Health region, 216 in the Interior Health region, 65 in the Northern Health region and 51 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 is one active community outbreak, in addition to several community exposure events.

Dix and Henry said: “We are concerned about the increase in new cases in recent days as COVID-19 continues to silently circulate in our communities.

“While early on, many of our long-term care and assisted living facilities were impacted, most of the new cases are in the broader community.

“Here in British Columbia, as we spend more time with others, we need to find our balance with COVID-19. We need to minimize the number of cases, manage new cases as they emerge and modify our activities accordingly.

“To do this, we all have to do our part by continuing to use our layers of protection and following our rules for safe social interactions.

“No one wants to get sick with COVID-19, nor do we want to inadvertently pass it onto others. While the symptoms can be mild, it is a complex illness that has serious consequences.

“Let’s enjoy the summer safely and continue to do all we can to protect our neighbours, our friends and our loved ones.”