British Columbia is reporting 546 new cases of COVID-19 for the entire province with 12 additional deaths in that span.
Of the 508 new cases, 30 are linked to the Island Health region. The Island’s health authority has now reported 75 cases of COVID-19 over the past two days.
There are currently 4,455 active cases in British Columbia, while 7,176 residents remain under active public health monitoring.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says that 291 are in hospital – a decrease of 12 since Jan. 28 – with 75 people in critical care as a result of the virus (an increase of one).
Since Wednesday’s numbers, there have been 174 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 218 in the Fraser Health region, 30 in the Island Health region, 70 in the Interior Health region, 51 in the Northern Health region and three new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
There were 12 additional deaths related to the virus on Thursday. This brings the provincial death total over the course of the pandemic to 1,184.
Also as of Thursday, the total number of cases in British Columbia over the course of the pandemic has reached 66,265.
Health officials also said that 127,255 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C, 4,185 of which are second doses.
“Any travel beyond your local community, unless it is absolutely essential for work or medical care, is strongly discouraged right now. This is necessary because we know that COVID-19 can travel with us, and we can just as easily bring it back on our return. If it is a day trip or a weekend getaway, the risk is the same,” said Dr. Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a joint statement on Thursday.
“The more people you see and more places you go increase the risk for you, your family and those in the community you may be visiting.”
In an interview with CHEK News, Dr. Henry said that she is eyeing an ease of restrictions, possibly by the summer of 2021, however, is emphasizing that British Columbians need to stay patient and vigilant for that to happen.
B.C. health officials also called on B.C. residents to carry this vigilance into the upcoming holidays in February – including Family Day and Lunar New Year.
Plan something local and make it special for the people in your household.
“This coming Family Day, make it a day with your family at home. Plan something local and make it special for the people in your household,” reads the joint statement.
Island Health
According to the latest data provided by Island Health, there are currently 222 active cases on Vancouver Island – an increase of 18 from Jan. 28
Of the active cases, 41 are on southern Vancouver Island, 167 on central Vancouver Island and 14 on northern Vancouver Island.
Southern Vancouver Island includes the Greater Victoria region, Southern Gulf Islands and the Port Renfrew area.
Central Vancouver Island includes the Cowichan Valley, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni and Tofino areas.
Northern Vancouver Island goes from the Comox Valley to Port Hardy but also includes surrounding areas like Alert Bay and Sointula.
Over the course of the pandemic, the Island Health region has reported 1,553 cases.
More COVID-19 information
If there is a confirmed COVID-19 case in a school, public health contacts affected school community members directly. Regional health authorities also post-school notifications on their websites, providing the date and type of notification (outbreak, cluster or exposure) for impacted schools.
The Island Health school site can be found here.
Provincial mental health and anxiety support can be found at www.bouncebackbc.ca
Island Health’s COVID-19 data breaks down North, Central and South Island case counts and lists the number of days since any new lab-diagnosed cases. You can find the data here along with any public exposures.
According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 101.1 million. More than 2.18 million deaths have been recorded.
Graham Cox
