B.C. records 617 new cases of COVID-19 as Island Health breaks single-day record

B.C. records 617 new cases of COVID-19 as Island Health breaks single-day record
Province of BC
Health Minister Adrian Dix and Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provide an update on COVID-19 on November 12, 2020.

British Columbia recorded 617 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, including 16 new cases in Island Health. This is the highest number of cases recorded in a single day in Island Health.

Two more COVID-19 deaths were also reported on Friday. B.C. has now had a total of 290 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, released Friday’s numbers in a joint statement.

In the last 24 hours, there were 16 new cases of COVID-19 in the Island Health region, 130 new cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 424 in the Fraser Health region, 42 in the Interior Health region, five in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

The 617 new cases is a new daily record for the province.

B.C. has now had a total of 20,985 cases since the start of the pandemic.

There are 5,579 active cases of COVID-19 in the province (214 fewer than Nov. 12).

A total of 167 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 (12 more than Nov. 12), 50 of whom are in intensive care (six more than Nov. 12).

Currently, 12,016 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (925 more than Nov. 12), and 14,901 people who tested positive have recovered.

The province has three new health-care facility outbreaks: Sun Pointe Village, Capilano Care Centre and Fraserview Intermediate Care Lodge. The outbreaks at Queens Park Hospital, Lakeview Care Centre, Yaletown House and St. Michael’s Centre are now over.

In total, 35 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and six acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

There have been no new community outbreaks and the outbreaks at Coast Spas and Pace Processing are now over.

“As yesterday’s modelling update clearly showed, this is a critical time for everyone in our province. We need to act now to protect our loved ones, our Elders and our communities,” Henry and Dix said in Friday’s statement.

“When faced with a resurgence of COVID-19, it can be difficult to muster the strength to keep moving forward, yet British Columbians continue to show unwavering resilience and fortitude to support friends and neighbours in our communities and take care of those who are most at risk, by following the orders and using our layers of protection.

“This weekend, we encourage everyone to have a safe start to Diwali celebrations by staying home, limiting your travel and connecting virtually instead.

“Now is the time for everyone, right across our province, to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 – to be leaders by working together with a common purpose to push our curve back down.”

Island Health 

There are 67 active cases in the Island Health region: 25 on southern Vancouver Island, 27 on central Vancouver Island and 15 on northern Vancouver Island.

The health authority has had 340 cases since the start of the pandemic and 267 people have recovered.

Southern Vancouver Island includes the Greater Victoria region, Southern Gulf Islands and the Port Renfrew area.

Central Vancouver Island includes the Cowichan Valley, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni and Tofino areas.

Northern Vancouver Island goes from the Comox Valley to Port Hardy but also includes surrounding areas like Alert Bay and Sointula.

Island Health's COVID-19 numbers on Nov. 13, 2020. (Island Health)

Island Health’s COVID-19 numbers on Nov. 13, 2020. (Island Health)

More COVID-19 information

If there is a confirmed COVID-19 case in a school, public health contacts affected school community members directly. Regional health authorities also post school notifications on their websites, providing the date and type of notification (outbreak, cluster or exposure) for impacted schools.

The Island Health school site can be found here.

There are two clusters posted for Island Health as of Nov. 13. One COVID-19 cluster is at Dover Bay Secondary at 6135 McGirr Road in Nanaimo on Nov. 2, Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.

The other COVID-19 is at John Barsby Secondary at 550 Seventh St. in Nanaimo. The first exposure was on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6. The second exposure in the cluster was on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10.

Both sites were previous labelled as exposure events.

A cluster is when two or more individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period. The cases may be linked to school-based transmission. Both sites were previous labelled as exposure events.

Island Health’s COVID-19 data breaks down North, Central and South Island case counts and lists the number of days since any new lab-diagnosed cases. You can find the data here along with any public exposures.

To see B.C.’s COVID-19 numbers by day and health authority, along with testing numbers, positivity rates and recoveries, visit the B.C. COVID-19 dashboard.  The numbers are updated at 4:30 p.m. PT each weekday.

To see a list of all provincial public COVID-19 exposures and outbreaks in the province, including links to exposures and outbreaks listed on health authority websites, visit the B.C. Centre for Disease Control website ( BC CDC) here.

Island Health has one COVID-19 outbreak at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital after transmission in the transitional care unit. The outbreak was reported on Nov. 11, 2020.

There is also a possible COVID-19 exposure at Browns Socialhouse at 1661 Cliffe Ave. in Courtenay between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 3 and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Island Health provides updates on the locations and times of known possible exposures to COVID-19 to the public in our region when they are unable to reach or identify all individuals potentially exposed via contact tracing. A close contact exposure means face-to-face contact for an extended period of time with a person who is infectious.

The possible exposures listed are believed to be low risk but, out of an abundance of caution, Island Health asks that anyone who may have visited any of the locations listed on the specified dates and times to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms.

And the BC CDC has set up a COVID-19 epidemiology dashboard, which compares B.C. to other jurisdictions nationally and globally. It will be available on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Assisted-living, long-term care homes, seniors’ rental buildings with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in B.C. 

Vancouver Coastal Health – eight facilities

  • Banfield Pavilion
  • Capilano Care Centre
  • Fraserview Intermediate Care Lodge
  • Haro Park Centre (second occurrence)
  • Louis Brier Home & Hospital
  • Pinegrove Place
  • Royal Arch Masonic Home (second occurrence)
  • Three Links Care Centre

Fraser Health – 24 facilities

  • Agassiz Seniors Community
  • Amenida Seniors Community
  • Belvedere Care Centre
  • Dania Home (second occurrence)
  • Chartwell Langley Gardens (second occurrence)
  • Evergreen Baptist Care Society
  • Fellburn Care Centre
  • Finnish Manor
  • Fort Langley Seniors Community
  • Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre
  • Harrison Pointe
  • Holyrood Manor
  • Laurel Place
  • Hawthorne Seniors Care Community – long-term care
  • Hawthorne Senior Care Community – assisted living
  • Normanna (second occurrence)
  • Northcrest Care Centre
  • Peace Portal Seniors Village (second occurrence)
  • Rosemary Heights Seniors Village
  • Suncreek Village
  • Tabor Home (second occurrence)
  • The Harrison at Elim Village (second occurrence)
  • The Residence in Mission
  • White Rock Senior Village (second occurrence)

Northern Health – one facility

  • Rotary Manor Dawson Creek

Interior Health – two facilities

  • Sun Pointe Village
  • Village at Mill Creek
Alexa HuffmanAlexa Huffman

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