Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, are reporting 27 new cases of COVID-19 in the province as of Friday and a community outbreak in Haida Gwaii.
One of the new cases is an epidemiologically-lined, meaning a person who was never tested but was presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed case.
There has also been one more death from COVID-19 in B.C., bringing the death toll to 191.
None of the new cases are in Island Health, which has had a total of 142 cases since the pandemic began.
There is one new community outbreak on Haida Gwaii, with 13 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date. Haida Gwaii is located in the Northern Health Authority.
Of the 13 people who have tested positive on Haida Gwaii, one person has recovered and 12 are active cases. At this time cases are all local residents. There are no hospitalizations at this time.
B.C. health officials say while the initial source of transmission is still being investigated, the cases are all epidemiologically-linked. Some are related residents who had recently travelled off-island, and others are from exposure to known cases.
There are 294 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,934 people who tested positive have recovered.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 12 individuals are hospitalized (down four from July 23), three of whom are in intensive care.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,057 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,764 in the Fraser Health region, 142 in the Island Health region, 319 in the Interior Health region, 79 in the Northern Health region and 58 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. In total, one long-term care facility and two acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.
There is an additional COVID-19 exposure location in Kelowna. Anyone who visited Fossello’s clothing (565 Bernard Ave) on Jul 18 or Jul 20 is asked to self-monitor closely for symptoms and get tested if symptoms develop.
.@Interior_Health has identified an additional #COVID19 exposure location in #Kelowna.
If you visited Fossello’s clothing (565 Bernard Ave) on Jul 18 or Jul 20, please self-monitor closely for symptoms & get tested if
symptoms develop.More details: https://t.co/DslfACBx6f
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) July 24, 2020
“As we all enjoy our summer, we can reduce the potential for COVID-19 to spread by taking the time to assess the risks before spending time with others,” Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix wrote in Friday’s COVID-19 statement with the latest numbers.
“Can you keep a safe distance from others? Are you giving people the space to stay safe? Are you spending a short time together? Are you outside? Are the people you are with in your bubble? These are the questions we all need to ask ourselves.
“If you can’t say yes to these questions, then say no to the activity and choose to do something else instead.”
Henry and Dix also reminded residents that in the coming days, a new provincial health officer order will be in place to limit the number of people who can stay at and visit short-term rental accommodations and boat rentals.
“This weekend, be mindful of where you are going and who you are seeing, assess your own risks and take steps to protect yourself and those you care for most. Let’s keep our firewall strong and bend our curve back down,” Henry and Dix said.
Meanwhile, the latest statistics from the BC Centre of Disease Control show the Okanagan has become the provincial hotspot for COVID-19 cases.
The centre says 107 cases were reported in the region between July 10th and 23rd – well ahead of Fraser South at 58 cases and Vancouver at 49.
On Vancouver Island from July 10 to 23, there were a total of six cases in central Vancouver Island and one in southern Vancouver Island.
B.C.’s COVID-19 cases by region from July 10 to 23, 2020. (BC CDC)
Henry said about one thousand people are self-isolating after the Kelowna-area outbreak.
There have been 315 cases of COVID-19 in the Interior, including 88 that remain active.
To see B.C.’s COVID-19 cases by day and health authority, visit the B.C. COVID-19 dashboard.
According to researchers with Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is now more than 15.6 million, with more than 636,000 deaths.
With files from The Canadian Press
Alexa Huffman
