British Columbia’s provincial health officer says the resurgence the province is seeing in COVID-19 cases could be a second wave, but she believes the virus can be suppressed heading into the fall.
Speaking at an Elections B.C. news conference, Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday calling the rise in cases a second wave is semantics and the reality is the pandemic will be with us for a long time.
“We are certainly in a resurgence,” she said.
“It could be a second wave if you want to call it that. I think we are in this, as I’ve said many times, for a long haul.”
Henry was reacting to Quebec’s announcement Monday that the province was experiencing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health officials are continuing to monitor many factors associated with COVID-19 in B.C., including cases that are linked, those that are not and the numbers of people in hospital, Henry said
The key will be finding the right balance as cases surge while allowing people to carry out activities like going to work and school or holding elections.
B.C. announced 96 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, increasing the province’s total to 8,304 infections. Of those, 1,465 are active.
Henry said 61 people were in hospital with COVID-19, and 22 of them were in intensive care. The total number of deaths from COVID-19 remained at 227 people.
No new cases were confirmed on Vancouver Island. The Island Health region has recorded 203 cases and five deaths. Eight people are currently sick, but none is in hospital.
— With a file from the Times Colonist
