Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, and B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix say there are 14 new cases of COVID-19 in the province.
None of the new cases are in Island Health, which has had 131 cases since the pandemic began. The latest case was reported on Monday and is in the southern Vancouver Island region. A total of 125 people have recovered in Island Health and there have been five deaths.
There have now been a total of 2,849 cases in B.C. One additional death has been reported as of Wednesday in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. There have now been 171 deaths in B.C.
Of those, there are 162 active cases and 2,516 people who tested positive have recovered.
And of the total COVID-19 cases, 14 individuals are hospitalized (same number as June 23), seven of whom are in intensive care.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 963 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,491 in the Fraser Health region, 131 in the Island Health region, 199 in the Interior Health region and 65 in the Northern Health region.
There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. In total, six long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility have active outbreaks.
There have been no new community outbreaks and the outbreak at Maersk Distribution Canada Inc. in Delta has been declared over. There are two remaining community outbreaks.
Henry and Dix released Wednesday’s numbers in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, B.C. Premier John Horgan and Henry announced the province would be gradually moving into Phase 3 of the province’s restart plan, which allows for more travel and openings.
“We have worked hard to find the balance in British Columbia: to flatten our curve, keep new cases low and safely increase our social interactions by continuing to follow our core, foundational rules,” Henry and Dix said in Wednesday’s statement.
“We are in a unique and unusual time, and until we have an effective treatment or vaccine, COVID-19 will continue to circulate in our communities. We need to keep our actions going to minimize any cases.
“The things we have been doing will get us through this time and allow us to safely enjoy many activities this summer and through the fall.
“No matter where we may be this summer, remember that COVID-19 is still with us. So let’s make sure we travel respectfully, by using our travel manners, planning ahead, being prepared and maintaining safe social interactions.”
To see B.C.’s COVID-19 numbers by day and testing numbers, visit the BC COVID-19 dashboard.
Researchers with Johns Hopkins University and Medicine say the number of known COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 9.3 million, with over 479,000 deaths.
Alexa Huffman
