B.C. reported 287 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including three new cases in Island Health.
Four of the new cases are epidemiologically-linked, meaning people who were never tested but were presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory confirmed case.
Two more COVID-19 deaths were also reported on Wednesday. B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll is now 261.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Stephen Brown, deputy minister of health, released Wednesday’s numbers in a joint statement.
B.C. has now had a total of 13,875 cases since the start of the pandemic, including 253 in the Island Health region (three more than Oct. 27), 4,545 cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health region (69 more than Oct. 27), 7,863 in the Fraser Health region (189 more than Oct. 27), 727 in the Interior Health region (10 more than Oct. 27), 399 in the Northern Health region (16 more than Oct. 27) and 88 cases of people who reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers).
There are 2,316 active cases of COVID-19 in the province (six fewer than Oct. 27), 5,358 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (257 more than Oct. 27), and 11,244 people who tested positive have recovered.
B.C. completed 9,568 new tests in the last 24 hours. B.C.’s testing rate is 114,724 per 100,000 people.
There is one new health-care facility outbreak at PICS assisted-living facility. The outbreaks at Dr. Al Hogg Pavilion and at Delta Hospital have been declared over. In total, 21 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility have active outbreaks. They are:
- Haro Park Centre long-term care facility (second occurrence) in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Royal Arch Masonic Home long-term care facility (second occurrence) in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Three Links Care Centre long-term care facility in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Banfield Pavilion 4 West long-term care facility in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Agassiz Seniors Community in Fraser Health
- Amenida Seniors Community in Fraser Health
- Baillie House long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Evergreen Baptist Care Society long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Fair Haven Homes Burnaby Lodge in Fraser Health
- Fort Langley Seniors Community long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Good Samaritan Victoria Heights assisted-living facility in Fraser Health
- Laurel Place long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Peace Portal Seniors Village long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- PICS assisted- living facility in Fraser Health
- Queen’s Park Care Centre in Fraser Health
- Rosemary Heights Seniors Village independent- assisted- and long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Sunset Manor assisted-living facility in Fraser Health
- The Village assisted-living and long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Zion Park Manor long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Fellburn Care Center long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- St. Michael’s Centre long-term care facility in Fraser Health
And there has been one new community outbreak at the Okanagan Men’s Centre.
“Our COVID-19 safety efforts start at home, and recently we have seen a number of new cases and clusters directly connected to social events in private homes. That is why there is now a provincial health officer order in place restricting the number of people who can safely be in our homes,” Henry and Brown said in Wednesday’s statement.
“The new order is about ensuring what happens in our homes is in step with what we are doing elsewhere. Just as we need to keep our groups to no more than six when we go to restaurants, we must also keep our groups small at home.
“We can still spend time with our friends and family, but right now we must all keep to our ‘safe six’ only or take our events outside, where it is far easier to maintain a safe physical distance.
“Let’s save the parties for when it is safe for everyone to celebrate. If you are planning a wedding in your home, make it your immediate family only and save the celebration for next year. If you are organizing a birthday party for your children, only invite those small number of friends from your close social circle, not the entire class or sports team. The things we do at parties and celebrations including talking, hugging and eating and drinking together indoors are much riskier than our normal school or work activities.
“And unlike our schools and workplaces, most homes do not have space for everyone to keep a safe distance from others, nor do our homes have the layers of protection – the physical barriers, one-way pathways and the use of masks – that are part of school and work COVID-19 safety plans.
“Now is the time for us to take a step back from our in-person social events and gatherings, and connect virtually instead. This will help to protect our loved ones, our seniors, Elders and our communities as we move forward.”
Henry is scheduled to give a COVID-19 update in Surrey tomorrow (Oct. 29) with Minister of Health Adrian Dix and Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health.
Island Health
Island Health has nine active cases: three on southern Vancouver Island, three on central Vancouver Island and three on northern Vancouver Island.
There are no COVID-19 hospitalizations in Island Health and 238 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 as of Oct. 28, 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 one school exposure listed as of Oct. 22. The exposure is at Wood Elementary in Port Alberni on Oct. 19.
According to Island Health, if your child’s school has been notified of an exposure, no action is required unless you are contacted by Public Health or are otherwise directed by school officials.
The Island Health school site can be found here.
B.C. has posted detailed information about the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases from January to September 2020. This map will be updated monthly, according to B.C. health officials.
Geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases in B.C. from January to September 2020 (BC CDC)
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 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 in the province, including links to exposures listed on health authority websites, visit the B.C. Centre for Disease Control website ( BC CDC) here.
According to Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 44.3 million. More than 1.1 million COVID-19 deaths have been recorded.
Alexa Huffman
