The daily COVID-19 case count dipped below 300 cases on Monday and there were fewer than 1,000 case over the long weekend — but the province says hold off any re-opening plans until the government makes its restart announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
“Today is one day closer to putting this pandemic behind us,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a joint media statement on Monday.
There were 356 new cases between Friday and Saturday, 325 from Saturday to Sunday, and 293 new people who tested positive between Sunday and Monday for a total of 974 cases over the three-day weekend.
By comparison, on April 7 there were 1,318 new cases in B.C. and on April 9, Island Health reported 80 new cases, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
The Fraser Health region continues to lead the province with 630 new cases over the weekend while the Island had the fewest at 25.
Today there are 3,953 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, of whom 292 individuals are currently hospitalized, including 96 who are in intensive care. That’s down from 319 in hospital on Friday including 107 in intensive care.
Circuit breaker restrictions put in place six weeks ago — restricting indoor dining, faith gatherings, adult group fitnesses classes and travel outside three zones in the province — expire at midnight Monday. The province will announce its restart plan on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
“Until tomorrow’s announcement, there are no changes for individuals or businesses,” said Henry and Dix.
“It’s the decisions we make right now and continue to make in the coming days and weeks that will make all the difference in our efforts to continue pushing COVID-19 numbers down,” they said.
Twelve more COVID-19 related deaths were reported on Monday, for a total of 1,679.
Of 142,347 cases in B.C., 136,603 people who tested positive have recovered
On Monday, 2.8 million adults have been vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinesof which 147,144 of which were second doses.
On Thursday about 310,000 youth age 12 to 17 started getting their vaccine shots — able to register and book or accompany a parent, guardian or friend to appointments.
Despite the encouraging downward trend in cases and hospitalizations, the province is asking people to enjoy the final day of the long weekend but “remember to stay local.”
