4 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., with none of the new cases in Island Health

Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, reported four new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. Tuesday, with none of the new cases in Island Health.

Island Health remains at a total of 127 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

There have now been 2,601 confirmed cases in B.C. Henry also said there were no new COVID-19 deaths over the last 24 hours. The death toll in B.C. is 165.

Vancouver Coastal Health also saw no new cases over the last 24 hours and remains at 904 in total. And there have now been 1,311 cases in Fraser Health, 195 in Interior Health and 64 in Northern Health.

Of all the cases, 207 are active and 2,229 have recovered. Thirty-one people are in hospital (one fewer than June 1) and eight are in intensive care (three more than June 1).

One of the hospitalizations is on Vancouver Island, in intensive care.

“We know it can be a very long recovery period,” Henry said about COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The Abbotsford Hospital outbreak, which saw 10 healthcare workers affected, has been declared over. Two of those healthcare workers ended up in intensive care.

“I’m extremely pleased to say both of them were discharged home,” Henry said.

But there are two new community outbreaks at office workplaces in Fraser Health: New World Technologies in Abbotsford and Maersk Distribution in Delta.

Henry said she commends the many businesses that have worked really hard on COVID-19 prevention planning. She said that having a posted COVID-19 safety plan is a good indication that a business has done its homework before reopening.

Some of the measures in the plan can include physical barriers, employee training, enforcing physical distancing and asking people to wear non-medical masks.

“We have seen many examples of business owners being creative,” she said. “It is OK to move slowly and at a pace that works for you.”

Henry said some businesses are looking at how to incorporate testing and screening. But she noted testing does not replace the steps that are required to keep people safe. She also said it’s important to remember testing can be unreliable for people who don’t have symptoms or have very mild symptoms.

“Testing can help identify those who have COVID-19 so that people can rapidly isolate,” she said.

To see a full breakdown of B.C.’s COVID-19 cases by day, visit the BC COVID-19 dashboard. 

According to researchers with Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 6.3 million, with more than 378,000 deaths recorded. 

Watch Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix on June 2, 2020 below:

Earlier Tuesday, B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming says about one-third of students returned to classrooms in British Columbia yesterday and he expects those numbers to rise.

Fleming says in countries like New Zealand and Denmark, more families sent their kids back to classrooms after hearing it was safe.

He says guidelines limiting class capacity won’t change and there are response plans in place in case of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Kindergarten through Grade 12 schools opened yesterday on a part-time and optional basis, while online learning also continues for the final four weeks of the school year.

Fleming says the partial return will allow staff to prepare for a new school year in the fall, and they will spend summer fine tuning how it will work.

Given the potential of a second wave of COVID-19, Fleming says it’s not unlikely that a hybrid of in-class and online learning will be part of the next school year.

Henry also said there is likely to be a hybrid model but it will look different than it does now.

“I fully expect that all children will be back in some sort of classroom environment come September,” Henry said, adding that for some children, having in-classroom learning is important so they do not fall behind.

With files from The Canadian Press and CBC

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