British Columbia has reported 589 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, shattering the daily record for the second day in a row.
Yesterday, B.C. health officials announced a new daily record of 425 cases – besting the previous record of 389 cases set on Nov. 1.
Five of the new cases announced on Friday are located in the Island Health region.
The total number of active cases in British Columbia has increased to 3,741 – a rise of 352 from Nov. 5 – while 7,887 residents remain under active public health monitoring.
On Friday, there were two additional deaths related to the virus, meaning the provincial total over the course of the pandemic is now 275.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says that there are currently 104 individuals hospitalized from COVID-19 in B.C. – an increase of seven since Thursday – with 28 people in intensive care (increasing by four from Thursday).
As of Friday, the total number of cases in British Columbia over the course of the pandemic has been 17,149.
Since Thursday’s numbers, there have been 146 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 402 in the Fraser Health region, five in the Island Health region, 24 in the Interior Health region, 12 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 5,369 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 10,109 in Fraser Health, 286 in Island Health, 835 in Interior Health, 450 in Northern Health, and 90 total cases among people who reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers).
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a written statement that there have been six new health-care facility outbreaks as of Friday as well. Outbreaks have been reported at Suncreek Village, Fort Langley Seniors Community, Northcrest Care Centre, Fellburn Care Center – PATH unit, Ridge Meadows Hospital and Langley Memorial Hospital.
While six new outbreaks were reported on Friday, one came to an end. The outbreak at Fair Haven Homes Burnaby Lodge has been declared over. In total, 31 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and four acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.
There were 10,591 COVID-19 tests performed in BC in the past 24 hours.
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) November 6, 2020
According to Health Minister Adrian Dix, there were 10,591 tests performed in BC in the past 24 hours.
In a written release issued on Friday, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Dix said that the BCCDC has implemented a texting service for new cases of COVID-19.
According to officials, people in B.C. can now sign up to receive text notification of both positive or negative test results, in addition to test results being available through Health Gateway and other online portals. For more information, go to: www.bccdc.ca/results
The written statement also implied that Dr. Henry and Dix hope to keep businesses open, although public health officials are continuing to assess the current landscape.
“Keeping businesses open is important to all of us and we can all take confidence in knowing the vast majority of businesses are doing all they can to keep their employees and customers safe throughout the province. This has allowed us to have as much as possible open in our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads a joint statement.
“As we have done with many sectors, public health teams are continually reviewing guidance and working with individual business owners to help navigate the challenges of COVID-19 and continue to operate safely.
The duo emphasized that as the provincial numbers increase, health teams are stepping up inspections to “identify gaps” and “increase the safety measures,” where it is required.
“Only if it is clearly demonstrated that a business or sector is unable to operate safely are businesses ordered to close,” says the statement.
Dr. Henry and Dix emphasize for the public to help local businesses to stay open by staying away if they are feeling sick and using masks when indoors.
“We have one COVID-19 curve in B.C., and we all have a role to play to get through this storm and push our curve back down,” concludes the statement.
Island Health
Island Health has 30 active cases: 13 on southern Vancouver Island, six on central Vancouver Island and 11 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.
Island Health also warned the public on Thursday night of a possible COVID-19 exposure at the Tofino Brewing Company. The health authority is advising anyone who may have visited the location on Oct. 27 between 5-7 p.m. to monitor for symptoms. Further information can be found on Island Health’s website.
Island Health’s COVID-19 cases on Nov. 6, 2020 (Island Health)
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.
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 49.1 million. More than 1.24 million deaths have been recorded.
Graham Cox
