No deaths from COVID-19 in B.C. for a week, but 53 new cases announced Friday
It has now been a week since any new deaths from COVID-19 have been announced in B.C., as cases continue to rise.
In a statement Friday, B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced 53 new cases in the past 24 hours in B.C.
These include 386 active cases of COVID-19, with 11 people in hospital, four of whom are in intensive care.
To date, there have been 3,934 confirmed cases in British Columbia and 195 people have died.
Outbreaks and exposures
Nearly 1,500 people in the province are self-isolating due to an exposure to COVID-19. While there are no new community outbreaks, there are still several public exposures including flights into the province, and other locations like Lions Bay Beach Park.
On Friday, Vancouver Coastal Health noted a public exposure at the PumpJack Pub on 1167 Davie St. The possible exposures occurred between midnight and 2 a.m. on the morning of August 1.
An up-to-date list of exposure events is posted on the BCCDC website.
Health officials ask those who may have been at an exposure event to limit contact with others and monitor for symptoms.
Dix and Henry's statement confirmed an outbreak at Derby Manor in the Fraser Health region. There are now five long-term care or assisted-living facilities with active outbreaks, as well as one acute-care facility.
As cases in British Columbia rise — active cases are double what they were one month ago — Dix and Henry warned now is the time to "hold the line" and keep vigilant as we head into the weekend.
"As we see new COVID-19 hot spots emerge and the new cases creep up in every health authority, we have to keep our firewall strong. Like a wildfire, COVID-19 has the potential to rapidly burn out of control and we need to put out these flare-ups," their statement read.
"Now is not the time to relax and let down our guard. Let's keep our bubbles small, use our layers of protection and give people the space to stay safe."
