Four new cases of COVID-19 across the Interior Heath Authority today bringing the total up to 216.
It was part of 21 cases announced by B.C. health officials today, including two epi-linked cases, for a provincial total of 3,149 to date. There were no new deaths to report for the second straight day, the provincial total remains at 189.
It is the sixth time in the last week that the province has reported 20 or more cases in a 24-hour period, though health officials say the slight increase is not surprising, as people begin to expand their bubbles more.
“There is one active community outbreak, in addition to several community exposure events,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, in a statement. “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.”
Interior Health says there are still 13 cases linked to an community exposure in downtown Kelowna, not 17 as noted by Dr. Henry yesterday. Its as people from Kelowna, the Lower Mainland and Alberta gathered together. It’s unclear how many of the new cases today are linked to this outbreak.
“Here in British Columbia, as we spend more time with others, we need to find our balance with COVID-19,” said the statement. “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.”
Officials caution that while symptoms can be mild, COVID-19 is a complex illness that has serious consequences.
“No one wants to get sick with COVID-19, nor do we want to inadvertently pass it onto others,” added the statement. “Let’s enjoy the summer safely and continue to do all we can to protect our neighbours, our friends and our loved ones.”
The number of active cases is down by two from yesterday’s update to 207, of which there are 14 people in hospital, five of whom are in intensive care. Both those numbers are unchanged from Monday’s and Tuesday’s update.
As well, now there are 2,753 people who tested positive who have since recovered.
