Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Health region on Thursday, however the Prince George area hasn't had a new case in at least two weeks.
The total number of cases in the north since the start of the outbreak rose to 106, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. Data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Thursday showed there were 16 active cases in the Northern Health region – with none of those people hospitalized.
Across the province there were 78 new cases, bringing the province's total since the start of the pandemic to 4,274, Henry said. There were a total of 578 active cases in the province, with nine people hospitalized and four in acute care, she said.
"We are on an upward trajectory. That is one of the reasons why we're bolstering our teams doing that contact tracing work," Henry said. "(But) we also need everyone to do their part. We have it in our ability to make the changes we need to bend that curve back down."
In addition to the 500 additional people the province is hiring to do contact tracing for people who test positive for COVID-19, the province is ensuing it has the capacity to ramp up testing rapidly if needed, she said.
There were no new deaths linked to COVID-19 on Thursday, leaving the province's death toll from the pandemic at 196. No deaths linked to COVID-19 have been reported in the north.
Eighteen new cases were reported in the Northern Health region between July 31 and Aug. 13, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Thursday evening. Of those cases, six were in the Northwest health service area of the health authority, which includes the reported outbreak on Haida Gwaii, and 12 were in the Northeast health service area.
The Northern Interior health service area, which includes Prince George, had no new cases over the two-week span.
"Other than the outbreak on Haida Gwaii, we've had not other facility or community outbreaks," Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins said on Friday.
Public health officials are working to trace the contacts of all the current cases, Collins said. While there has been an increase in cases in the Northeast service area, there hasn't been any exposure events to warn the public about.
Province-wide, there has been an increase in the number of new cases, but the demographics of who is being infected is shifting.
"We're had a steady increase in new cases over the past week, along with a corresponding drop of the median age (of new patients)," Henry said. "Most people are related to local cases and clusters. There are very few people we don't have a link to."
The average age of new patients has shifted, Henry said. Previously cases were fairly evenly distributed across age demographics, but there has been a marked increased in people in their 20s and 30s, she said. Many of those new cases are linked to exposures at bars, nightclubs, private parties and other social gatherings, Henry added.
"Let's not paint all young people with the same brush. Most young people are doing the right thing," Henry said. "There are some people who are trying to skirt the rules. Where we know it's happening, we do shut them down."
As of Thursday, the only COVID-19 outbreak reported by Northern Health is on Haida Gwaii. The health authority reported no community exposure events.
Henry also spoke about the results of a provincial survey about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While all British Columbians have been impacted by the pandemic, she said, people in lower income brackets and visible minority groups including West and Southeast Asians and Latin Americans were more likely to have lost work because of the pandemic, and were more likely to be struggling financially.
School-age children are less likely to be directly effected by COVID-19 – with only 78 reported cases in children 10 and under, and 162 cases in youth aged 11 to 19.
"Only three out of the whole group has needed to be hospitalized," Henry said.
Of those, none ended up in intensive care and no British Columbians under the age of 40 have died of COVID-19, she said.
However, 76 per cent of parents of school-age children reported their children's' learning was impacted by the pandemic, she said.
"Let's be clear, higher case numbers put everyone at risk," Health Minister Adrian Dix said. "We need to take steps to reduce those case numbers. It is our expectation that group limits (on parties and gatherings) will be followed."
Anyone throwing a party or gathering this weekend should expect to find bylaw officers or other public health officials at their door, checking that social distancing and group limits are being followed, he said.
"We're counting on you to make all the difference," Dix said. "It's not too late to rejoin the fight."
