ADRIAN Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, on Tuesday announced nine new cases who have tested positive for COVID-19 and one new epi-linked case, for a total of 2,669 cases in British Columbia.

However, for the fourth consecutive day, there were no new COVID-19 related deaths. There has been a total of 167 deaths in B.C.

There are 183 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,319 people who tested positive have recovered.

Of the total COVID-19 cases, 16 individuals are hospitalized, four of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 908 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,370 in the Fraser Health region, 130 in the Island Health region, 195 in the Interior Health region and 66 in the Northern Health region.

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. In total, four long-term care or assisted-living facilities continue to have active outbreaks.

There have been no new community outbreaks and public health teams are providing support for the six ongoing community outbreaks.

Dix and Henry pointed out: “While in recent weeks the number of new cases in B.C. has been low, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over – in British Columbia and around the world.

“The global case count continues to rise and many regions are facing a resurgence in cases. Just yesterday was the highest single day for new cases globally. This is concerning for all of us.

“COVID-19 has clearly shown us that we are all connected; the virus recognizes no borders.

“We need to watch closely what is happening globally and in B.C., and we need to do all we can to protect our communities and our province.

“Here in B.C., our path forward is to minimize, manage and modify: minimize the number of new cases and close contacts, manage clusters and outbreaks with rapid contact tracing by public health teams and, as needed, modify the measures we are all following.

“To do this, continue to assess your risks with every step and take precautions to protect yourself and those around you, whether at work, at home or while travelling. Without exception, always stay home when ill and no matter where you are, continue to follow the rules for safe social interactions with fewer faces and bigger spaces.

“Let’s protect our province by protecting each other, and let’s do this by being thoughtful and understanding in our actions.”