B.C. has now seen 36,132 confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) after health officials announced 711 new cases Friday.
Seven of the new cases were epi-linked.
In a joint statement issued Friday afternoon, Dec. 4, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and health minister Adrian Dix reported that 143 of the new COVID-19 cases are located in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 427 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 10 in the Island Health region, 81 in the Interior Health region, and 50 in the Northern Health region. No new cases have been identified in people who reside outside of Canada.
There have been 11 additional deaths attributed to COVID-19, for a total of 492 fatalities in British Columbia.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 338 individuals are hospitalized, 76 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
There are currently 9,050 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., while 25,658 people who tested positive have since recovered. As well, 10,957 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases.
There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks confirmed in the past 24 hours, at Peace Arch Hospital Foundation Lodge and at Richmond Hospital, according to Henry and Dix. The outbreak at Youville Residence, meanwhile, has been declared over.
Public alerts and notifications are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website and on all health authorities’ websites.
“We continue to face a significant surge in community transmission and new cases of COVID-19, which means following the provincial health officer’s (PHO) orders and using all our layers of protection is necessary for every person in our province right now," the pair said in the statement. “The virus is not letting up and neither can we. This weekend, let’s stay small and stay local, so we can slow the spread of the virus in our province."
Dix and Henry said British Columbians "can still be festive," and "can still have fun," but need to ensure that fun is only had with members of their immediate household.
