There are now 50,815 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C. after health officials announced 2,206 new cases Tuesday.
From Thursday to Friday there were 512 cases, from Friday to Saturday there were 447, from Saturday to Sunday there were 424, from Sunday to Monday there were 441 and from Monday to Tuesday there were 382.
25 of the new cases are epi-linked.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there have been 378 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,375 in the Fraser Health region, 44 in the Island Health region, 238 in the Interior Health region, 171 in the Northern Health region and _ new cases from people who reside outside of Canada.
We have had eight new health-care facility outbreaks, and three outbreaks have been declared over. There are currently 56 outbreaks in long-term care facilities and eight in acute care units.
There have been no new community outbreaks.
Since the start of immunizations, 11,930 people have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in B.C.
There have been 74 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 882 deaths in British Columbia.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 373 individuals are hospitalized, 80 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. Currently, 9,413 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases.
There are 7,580 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C. and 41,175 people who tested positive have recovered.
Public alerts and notifications are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website and on all health authorities’ websites.
COVID-19 U.K. variant
“The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has identified the first case of a person in B.C. infected with the COVID-19 U.K. variant. The person and their close contacts are isolating and receiving care from public health teams. The case was identified as part of the ongoing whole genome sequencing that has been done since the start of the pandemic," said Henry.
“What we know is this variant spreads more quickly than the other mutations we have had here in B.C. This is why adhering to the public health orders and restrictions, particularly abiding by the federal quarantine order and avoiding all non-essential travel, is so important.
“The majority of people in B.C. are following the public health orders we have in place. This meant that for most of us, this past weekend was a quiet weekend, with our immediate household only.
“To give our front-line health-care workers the reprieve they deserve, we need to make this entire holiday season a quiet holiday season, including our New Year’s celebrations.
“The turning of the calendar to 2021 is something we are all looking forward to. The way to ensure we are in the best possible position going into January 2021 is to make it a safe New Year for everyone.
“Every time you follow the rules, you save people’s lives. Every time you make the choice to bend the rules to make them work for you, you put yourself and your loved ones at risk.
“Staying local, staying small and staying apart protects the people we care about most and ensures the coming year will be better, brighter and safer for everyone.”
