British Columbia has recorded 1,959 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths over the last three days.
From Friday to Saturday, there were 654 new COVID-19 cases. From Saturday to Sunday, there were 659 cases and from Sunday to Monday, there were 646 cases.
Three of the new cases are epidemiologically-linked, meaning people who never tested but presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed case.
Nine new COVID-19 deaths were reported over the weekend, bringing B.C.’s death toll to 299. Six of the deaths were in Fraser Health, two were in Vancouver Coastal Health and one was in Northern Health.
There were 41 new cases of Island Health, 455 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 87 in Interior Health, 14 in Northern Health and one person who normally resides outside Canada.
B.C. has now had a total of 22,944 cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are currently 181 people in hospital with COVID-19 (13 more than Nov. 13), with 57 in intensive care (seven more than Nov. 13).
There are 10,928 people under active public health monitoring active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (1,088 fewer than Nov. 13) and 16,087 people have recovered.
There are 11 new healthcare outbreaks, primarily in Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health. There are now 52 outbreaks in the health-care system.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said the province is in the midst of the second wave and the virus is not stopping. She added that not having social gatherings is even more critical.
Henry also said she has been asked many times why there’s not a mandatory provincial order on masks. She says many locations already have one, and many people are already making the effort.
Henry said masks are another important measure B.C. residents need to embrace, in public spaces, when we are around people we don’t know and in indoor public spaces, such as shopping malls, community spaces, etc.
And she also encourages people to limit their travel as much as possible in all areas of the province. Henry said now is not the time to travel for recreational or non-essential travel.
Island Health
There are 99 active cases in the Island Health region: 30 on southern Vancouver Island, 50 on central Vancouver Island and 19 on northern Vancouver Island.
Island Health has now had a total of 381 cases since the start of the pandemic.
According to the BC Centre for Disease Control dashboard, two people are in hospital with COVID-19 in Island Health, with one in intensive care. A total of 276 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. 16, 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.
Island Health has five current COVID-19 school exposures listed:
- A cluster at Dover Bay Secondary, 6135 McGirr Rd. Nanaimo on Nov. 2, 5, 6.
- A cluster at John Barsby Secondary 550 Seventh St. Nanaimo. The first exposure was on Nov. 5,6. The second exposure was Nov. 9, 10.
- An exposure at Frank J Ney Elementary 5301 Williamson Rd. Nanaimo on Nov. 12.
- A cluster at Randerson Ridge Elementary 6021 Nelson Rd., Nanaimo on Nov. 4,5,6, 9, 10
- An exposure at Ladysmith Secondary School 710 6th Ave. Ladysmith on Nov. 9, 10, 12, 13
The Island Health school site can be found here.
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.
According to Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 54.7 million. More than 1.3 million deaths have been recorded.
Watch Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister Adrian Dix on Nov. 16, 2020
With files from The Canadian Press and CBC
Alexa Huffman
