“We are in the eye of the COVID-19 storm and are now facing a storm surge with increasing community transmission across our province”

PROVINCIAL Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix on Friday announced 911 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, bringing the total number of cases to 30,844 cases in British Columbia.

Sadly, there were 11 new COVID-19-related deaths, and the total number of deaths now stands at 395 in the province.

There are 301 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 69 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Currently, 10,430 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 21,304 people who tested positive have recovered.

There were 153 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 649 in the Fraser Health region, 27 in the Island Health region, 47 in the Interior Health region, 35 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There were three new health-care facility outbreaks at German Canadian Benevolent Society Home, Villa Cathay and Morgan Place Care. The Kiwanis Care Centre outbreak is over. There have been no new community outbreaks.

Henry and Dix said: “We are in the eye of the COVID-19 storm and are now facing a storm surge with increasing community transmission across our province. No community or location is immune.

“We have had to step back to protect our communities from this surge, which means locations, activities and gatherings that were safe a few weeks ago are less safe today.

“It is important to note that in many cases, including at temples, churches and gurdwaras, the places themselves are not the cause for concern as they are not doing anything wrong. It is our level of risk that has gone up, which means our ability to have any safe gathering right now has gone down.

“That is why we all need to do our part so we can bring community transmission down and safely resume those activities that are meaningful to our daily lives.

“Let’s remind ourselves about the severity of this illness and that small, simple actions make a very big difference.

“If you are thinking about your holiday shopping, especially on Black Friday, please remember to bring your mask, keep your distance and wash your hands often. As much as possible, limit your travel and shop locally. Support the businesses in your community.

“Every storm ends, and with it, the risks diminish. Let’s protect each other and make this weekend safe for all of us.”