B.C. is in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at her regularly-scheduled Monday press conference.
In addition to announcing a total of 499 new cases and two new deaths, bringing the total number of cases so far in B.C. to 11,687 since the pandemic began, Henry went on to say that we have control over what the province’s second wave will look like.
Henry said we are not seeing exponential growth, despite the fact that we have more people in hospitals today than we did a few weeks ago. There are currently 19 active outbreaks in the healthcare system: 17 in long-term care and two in acute care.
Henry announced a new community outbreak at J&L Beef Ltd. in the Fraser Health region. As well, there are also four additional healthcare outbreaks. These are at the Village in Langley, Rosemary Heights Senior Village, Zion Park Manor and the Royal Arch Masonic Home, which is the second occurrence at that facility.
On a positive note, two outbreaks have been declared over: Banfield Pavilion and Yaletown House.
The province, so far, has seen 9,753 recoveries.
Additionally, on Monday, Henry fielded questions regarding her response to people who still believe COVID-19 is a hoax, or hold anti-mask views.
"I'm not sure that I can reassure a small group of people, and I would emphasize that," she says, referring to the actual number of conspiracy theorists in the general population.
"Though they may be quite visible, we know that the vast majority of people in B.C. are doing the right thing, and they've done that continuously from the beginning."
Henry believes many anti-mask activists have taken strategies used by anti-vaccine activists and applied them to the concept of masks.
She says there are some people who label COVID-19 a hoax as a way of coping with the unfamiliar and pointed to American politics as an influencing factor.
"Sometimes when there's challenges that you don't understand, some people's reaction is to go along with the conspiracy theories that are out there, and we know this happens with anti-vaccine activists. I know a lot of it reflects some of the political rhetoric, unfortunately, from our neighbours to the South."
British Columbians are in a position to understand the virus lives in communities, and that the province has the means to deal with it, says Henry.
She encourages B.C. residents to continue following safety guidelines and interact with one another respectfully and graciously during this time.
"Remember what we've been talking about all along - that we don't always know where another person is coming from, and we need to remain calm. We need to accept they may have a view that we don't agree with and we need to step away from the conflict."
Henry also discussed this year’s Halloween celebrations. While other provinces are discouraging people from taking part in trick-or-treating, Henry said that she does not intend to follow the same path. Henry said that trick-or-treating is a low-risk activity because it’s outdoors and because B.C. has a relatively low case number compared to other provinces. However, she did emphasize that those who plan to celebrate Halloween should keep things small and respect those who decide not to.
With files from Laura Brookes/Castanet
