There are 20 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia as of Thursday, including 19 confirmed cases and one epidemiologically-linked case.
None of the new cases are in Island Health, which has had a total of 131 cases. Of those, 125 people have recovered and there have been five deaths.
There have now been a total of 2,869 COVID-19 cases in the province. There have been two additional deaths, one in long-term care in Fraser Health and one in long-term care in Vancouver Coastal Health. The death toll from COVID-19 in B.C. is now at 173.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 970 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 1,504 in Fraser Health, 131 in Island Health, 199 in Interior Health and 65 in Northern Health.
A total of 2,517 people have recovered. There are 179 active cases. Of those, 15 are in hospital (one more than June 24), with seven in intensive care.
One of the new cases, one was a teacher at a public school in the Fraser Health Region. Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said none of the students have been exposed and close contacts have been notified.
It’s the second case linked to a school since classes resumed earlier this month.
“We anticipated and planned for this potential,” Henry said.
Today is the last day for in-class instruction in the 2019-2020 school year. Yesterday B.C. has entered Phase 3 of its reopening plan.
“To all those students who are finishing the school year today, congratulations,” Henry said.
“You’ve made it through one of the most challenging years.”
Residents are now allowed to travel within the province as hotels, motels, resorts, spas and RV parks look to reopen.
“I think this can be an exciting summer for all of us, but be mindful: this is not regular programming,” Premier John Horgan said Wednesday.
To see B.C.’s COVID-19 numbers by day, along with 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 9.5 million, with over 484,000 deaths.
Watch Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister Adrian Dix on June 25, 2020, below:
With files from CBC
CHEK News
