B.C. reports 90 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, 1 new case in Island Health

B.C. reports 90 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, 1 new case in Island Health
Province of BC
Minister of Health Adrian Dix provides an update on novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on August 17, 2020.

B.C. health officials reported 90 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. on Friday, including one new case in the Island Health region.

Two more COVID-19 deaths were also reported in the Fraser Health Region, bringing the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 202.

There have now been a total of 4,915 COVID-19 cases in B.C. since the start of the pandemic, including 160 cases in Island Health, 1,569 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 2,572 in the Fraser Health region, 417 in the Interior Health region, 122 in the Northern Health region and 75 cases of people who reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers).

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Réka Gustafson, B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer released Friday’s numbers in a statement, saying there are 824 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Island Health has nine active cases.

A total 2,594 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (an increase of 20 from Aug 20) and 3,889 people who tested positive have recovered.

Thirteen individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19 (an increase of two from Aug 20), five of whom are in intensive care (an increase of one from Aug. 20).

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks and no new community outbreaks.

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

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

“COVID-19 is going to be with us for the foreseeable future. What that means for British Columbians is that we are all learning to live our lives with the virus in our communities,” Dix and Gustafson said in Friday’s statement.

“Public health teams know what they need to do and so do you. We know that with appropriate protective measures, we can reduce the risk of COVID-19 and live our lives.

Earlier Friday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced stronger enforcement measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the province. 

Property owners and organizers can be fined $2,000 for hosting events found in violation of public health orders in British Columbia.

The fines can be levied for hosting a gathering in excess of 50 people, failing to keep the contact information of everyone who attends an event, or inviting more than five guests into a vacation rental property.

Farnworth said “problematic” guests may also face $200 tickets for behaviour that could include refusing to leave when directed or disregarding COVID-19 safety plans at restaurants and other businesses.

“It is important to remember that the people who choose to disregard public health orders are the exception. Rather, we are heartened that the vast majority of people in B.C. are doing their part to protect themselves and each other,” Dix and Gustafson said on Friday.

“This weekend, take a few minutes to remind yourself of the steps we all take each day and every day. Together, we have the knowledge, we have the skills and the expertise. Let’s continue to protect our most vulnerable, our elders, our communities and ourselves.”

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.

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. The numbers are updated at 4:30 p.m. PT each weekday.

To see a list of public COVID-19 exposures in the province, including links to exposures listed on health authority websites, visit the B.C. Centre for Disease Control website here.

Pacific Coastal Airlines also lists possible COVID-19 exposures on its website.

According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of global COVID-19 cases is more than 22.7 million, with over 796,000 deaths.

With files from The Canadian Press

A previous version of this post incorrectly stated there were 102 deaths. The number has been corrected to 202 and CHEK News apologizes for the error.

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