B.C. health officials report 46 new COVID-19 cases, no new cases in Island Health

B.C. health officials report 46 new COVID-19 cases, no new cases in Island Health
Province of BC/File photo
Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provides an update on COVID-19 on August 10, 2020.

British Columbia health officials reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 as of Aug. 11. None of the new cases are in Island Health.

There have now been a total of 4,111 COVID-19 cases in B.C. since the start of the pandemic, including 148 in Island Health, 1,232 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 2,167 in the Fraser Health region, 393 in the Interior Health region, 100 in the Northern Health region and 71 cases of people who reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers).

There are now 472 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,444 people who tested positive have recovered.

Eight people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. (down one from Aug. 10), five of whom are in intensive care (an increase of two from Aug 10).

There have been no new COVID-19 related deaths. The COVID-19 death toll in B.C. is 195.

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks or community outbreaks as of Tuesday. The Krazy Cherry Fruit. Co. outbreak in the Interior Health region has been declared over.

In total, seven long-term care or assisted living facilities and one acute care facility have active outbreaks. They are:

  • Holy Family Hospital long-term care facility in Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Richmond Lions Manor long-term care facility in Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Dania Home long-term care facility in Fraser Health
  • Maple Ridge Seniors Village assisted living facility in Fraser Health
  • Derby Manor long-term care facility in Fraser Health
  • George Derby Centre long-term care facility in Fraser Health
  • New Vista Care Home long-term care facility in Fraser Health

Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix released Tuesday’s numbers in a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, British Columbia’s education minister says students won’t be back in classrooms on the originally planned date of Sept. 8.

Rob Fleming says students will be welcomed back to classrooms later in the second week of September after staff review the latest B.C. Centre for Disease Control guidelines and school operation policies.

It’s not clear when children will be allowed to return to schools.

Fleming says the government and its steering committee are working to finalize how school operations will work.

He added that the previous way students have traditionally attended school in the first week _ where they return to their previous classrooms before moving to new ones _ isn’t a safe practice during a pandemic.

“As we look to fall, what we’ve learned from other jurisdictions is that transmission in a school setting is a reflection of what’s happening in our communities; keeping our community transmission low and slow keeps us all safe,” Henry and Dix said in Tuesday’s statement.

“And behind the scenes, public health is using contact tracing to mitigate the new growth in cases. Every case is followed up and linked. People who are at risk from exposure to known cases are supported to self-isolate, reducing further community exposure. That is working. The number of people we see self-isolating from the past few days reflects the work that public-health teams are doing tracing people around the province to prevent the spread and stop outbreaks.”

Henry and Dix once again reminded people to keep gatherings small, have a designated “contact keeper,” limit time with others, maintain physical distance, and always stay home if feeling unwell.

“What we do each day protects us, our families and friends and our communities. Let’s continue to work together to bend the curve not the rules,” Henry and Dix said.

To see B.C.’s COVID-19 numbers by day and health authority, along with testing numbers and recoveries, visit the B.C. COVID-19 dashboard.

And for a list of COVID-19 public exposures, including flights, visit the BC Centre for Disease Control website here.

According to researchers with Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has now surpassed 20 million, with more than 738,000 deaths.

With files from The Canadian Press

Alexa HuffmanAlexa Huffman

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