British Columbia health officials say progress is being made in the efforts to push back the COVID-19 virus and get to the days of fewer restrictions in the province.
Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement Tuesday that there are 435 new cases of the virus, for a total of 4,393 active cases. Twenty-three of the new confirmed are in the Island Health region, which now has 272 active cases.
Some 241 people are in hospital, of whom 68 are in intensive care, and the remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. Twenty-two Island Health residents are in hospital, with seven in intensive care.
There have been four new COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 1,263 fatalities linked to the virus, but there are no new health facility outbreaks and just one new community outbreak at the Highridge/Singh group home in Kamloops.
Dix and Henry are urging residents to keep this “positive, forward momentum” going and help keep the province safe through the small efforts they make every day.
By saving socializing and travel for another time, the statement says, B.C. residents are protecting the people they know and care for most, as well as those they may not know, such as an elderly neighbour, a grocery store clerk or front-line workers.
“Fewer cases, outbreaks or unchecked transmission is what we need to give us all a clear path forward. Let’s support each other today, this weekend and the next to help make that happen.”
— With a file from the Times Colonist
