Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, say there are 53 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia as of Aug. 7.
Three of the new cases are epidemiologically-linked, meaning people who were never tested but were presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed case.
B.C. has had a total of 3,934 cases. There were no new COVID-19 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. The COVID-19 death toll in B.C. remains at 195.
There is one new case in Island Health, which has now had a total of 147 cases since the pandemic began. Of those, 139 have recovered and there have been five deaths.
There has also been 1,167 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 2,069 in Fraser Health, 389 in Interior Health, 93 in Northern Health and 69 among people who live outside of Canada (e.g. visitors and temporary foreign workers).
B.C. has had a total of 3,934 COVID-19 cases, since the start of the pandemic. There are 386 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,353 people who tested positive have recovered.
There are 11 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. (no change from Aug 6), four of whom are in intensive care (down one from Aug. 6).
There is a new health-care facility outbreak at Derby Manor in the Fraser Health region.
In total, five 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 long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Derby Manor independent-living facility in Fraser Health
There are no new community outbreaks. However, there continue to be community exposure events throughout the province and on flights into and out of British Columbia.
READ MORE: BC CDC warns of COVID-19 exposure on Victoria WestJet flight to Calgary
Dix and Henry released Friday’s numbers in a statement, saying it’s important to keep the province’s “firewall” strong as new cases creep up in every health authority.
“Like a wildfire, COVID-19 has the potential to rapidly burn out of control and we need to put out these flare-ups,” Dix and Henry said.
“Today, more than 1,500 people throughout our province are self-isolating, unable to leave their home unless it is to get medical care, because they have COVID-19 or have had a high-risk exposure to the virus. This is a concern and something we can change.
“We can make a difference and we know what we need to do, because we have done so already. We are calling on everyone to make COVID-19 safety our way of life – this weekend and every weekend.”
Dix and Henry reminded people to keep their contact bubbles small, use layers of protection and practice physical distancing.
“We have been leaders in how to protect our communities and how to restart our economy. Let’s continue to be the place that leads with kindness and compassion, that works together and keeps COVID-19 low and slow,” Dix and Henry said.
“This weekend, let’s continue to hold the line and remember that we can keep our curve flat. We can continue to do that by staying committed to each other.”
B.C.’s COVID-19 cases by health authority, including the period from July 24 to Aug. 6. (BC CDC)
To see B.C.’s COVID-19 cases by day and health authority, along with recoveries and testing numbers, visit the B.C. COVID-19 dashboard.
And to see the BC Centre for Disease Control’s list of COVID-19 public exposures, click here.
According to researchers with Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is now more than 19.1 million, with more than 716,000 deaths.
Alexa Huffman
