B.C. health officials reported 97 new cases of COVID-19 on Sept. 15, but none of the new cases are in Island Health.
Island Health continues to have 12 active cases and no hospitalizations.
Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, released Tuesday’s numbers in a joint statement.
One of the new cases reported Tuesday is epidemiologically-linked, meaning a person who was never tested but was presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed case.
There are 1,590 active cases of COVID-19 in the province (a decrease of four from Sept, 14), 3,001 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (a decrease of 46 from Sept. 14), and 5,548 people who tested positive have recovered.
Sixty-three people with COVID-19 are in hospital (an increase of five from Sept. 14), 20 of whom are in intensive care (an increase of four from Sept. 14).
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 195 cases in Island Health, 2,608 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 3,784 in the Fraser Health region, 479 in the Interior Health region, 225 in the Northern Health region and 85 cases of people who reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers).
There have been a total of 7,376 cases of COVID-19 reported in the province since the start of the pandemic.
No new COVID-19 deaths were reported Tuesday. The B.C. COVID-19 death toll remains at 219.
There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at OPAL by Element in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. In total, 11 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and three acute-care facilities have active outbreaks. They are:
- OPAL by Element assisted living facility in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Point Grey Private Hospital long-term care facility in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Royal Arch Masonic Home long-term care facility (second outbreak) in Vancouver Coastal Health
- Bear Creek Villa independent living facility in Fraser Health
- Cherington Place long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Evergreen Hamlets long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Kin Village assisted living facility in Fraser Health
- Milieu Children and Family Services Society community-living facility in Fraser Health
- New Vista Care Home long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Normanna long-term care facility in Fraser Health
- Rideau Retirement Centre independent living facility in Fraser Health
There have been no new community outbreaks.
“There is much that we know about COVID-19 and much that we continue to learn each day. What we do know is that now is the time for all of us to take a step back so we can move forward safely. To do this, we need to do our part to break the chains of transmission in B.C.,” Dix and Henry said in Tuesday’s statement.
“We must hold steady with our layers of protection. From keeping safe distances, to washing our hands, staying home, and staying away from others when we are ill and have symptoms of COVID-19, we must all do our part. And if we do have symptoms, contact 811 to arrange to get tested.
“Testing allows for rapid contact tracing. It means public health teams are able to quickly notify those who may be at risk and contain the spread to the others in the community.
“As teachers and youth get back to the classroom, public health teams have been there and are working closely with schools to manage and contact trace any time a COVID-19 case arises.
“This is time to get ready for the fall and winter seasons, to set the routines that ensure we stick with six people and avoid activities that will put ourselves and those we care for at risk.
“Let’s continue to monitor ourselves for symptoms and to modify our activities so we can all manage COVID-19 as it remains in our communities. Let’s take the precautions we need to that will protect ourselves, our loved ones, our Elders and our communities.”
B.C. has posted detailed information about the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases from January to July 2020. This map will be continually updated, according to B.C. health officials.
Geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases in B.C. from January to July 2020. (Province of BC)
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 (CDC) here.
One of the latest public exposures is Air Canada flight 195 from Toronto to Victoria on Sept. 5. The affected rows are one through four but anyone on a domestic flight with a COVID-19 case should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, the BC CDC says.
Here are the latest COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 5:26 p.m. PDT on Sept. 15, 2020:
There are 138,803 confirmed cases in Canada (0 presumptive, 138,803 confirmed including 9,188 deaths, 121,840 resolved)
- Quebec: 65,554 confirmed (including 5,785 deaths, 57,628 resolved)
- Ontario: 45,068 confirmed (including 2,820 deaths, 40,091 resolved)
- Alberta: 15,957 confirmed (including 254 deaths, 14,212 resolved)
- British Columbia: 7,376 confirmed (including 219 deaths, 5,548 resolved)
- Saskatchewan: 1,741 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,616 resolved)
- Manitoba: 1,466 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 1,181 resolved)
- Nova Scotia: 1,086 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,020 resolved)
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 271 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 266 resolved)
- New Brunswick: 194 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 189 resolved)
- Prince Edward Island: 57 confirmed (including 56 resolved)
- Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)
- Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
- Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
- Nunavut: No confirmed cases
According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is now more than 29.4 million. More than 931,000 deaths have been recorded.
Alexa Huffman
