Island Health saw one new COVID-19 related death and two new cases over the weekend, according to B.C. health officials.
The entire province recorded 267 new cases of COVID-19 over the last three days, including 68 cases from Friday to Saturday, 125 cases from Saturday to Sunday and 74 cases from Sunday to Monday.
Ten 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.
Three deaths from COVID-19 were reported over the weekend: one in Fraser Health, one in Island Health and one in Vancouver Coastal Health. The B.C. COVID-19 death toll is now 233. Island Health has had six deaths related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said death on Vancouver Island was a man who died in the community [at home]. He was found to be positive with COVID-19 after his death. He did have underlying medical conditions.
“Very disturbing and tragic for his family,” Henry said.
Island Health later confirmed the man was in his 60s.
“On behalf of Island Health, I want to share our deepest condolences with family and friends of this individual. For members of the Island Health family who are providing support to this individual’s loved ones during this challenging time, you are in my thoughts and we are all grateful for your compassion, Kathy MacNeil, Island Health President and CEO said in a statement.
The last time a COVID-19 death was reported in Island Health was May 6.
Island Health COVID-19 cases
There are five active cases in Island Health: two on southern Vancouver Island (no change from Sept 25), one on central Vancouver Island (one fewer than Sept. 25) and two on northern Vancouver Island (one fewer than Sept. 25).
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 has recorded 206 cases since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 195 people have recovered. There are no hospitalizations as of Sept. 28.
Island Health’s COVID-19 numbers as of Sept. 28, 2020. (Island Health)
B.C.’s COVID-19 cases
B.C. has now had a total of 8,908 cases since the start of the pandemic, including 206 cases in Island Health, 3,226 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 4,555 in Fraser Health, 531 in Interior Health, 303 in Northern Health and 87 among people who normally reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers.
There are 1,302 active cases (down 47 from Sept. 25). Sixty-nine people are in hospital (an increase of seven from Sept. 25), 22 of whom are intensive care (two more than Sept. 25). Of the hospitalizations, 32 are in Vancouver Coastal Health, 30 are in Fraser Health, one is in Interior Health and five are in Northern Health. One person who is hospitalized is someone who normally resides outside of Canada.
A total of 3,372 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (a decrease of 161 from Sept. 25) and 7,346 people have recovered.
There are three new healthcare outbreaks. Holy Residence in Vancouver, Thornebridge Gardens in New Westminster and Harrison at Elm Village in Surrey have all reported outbreaks.
There is also one new community outbreak, with five cases related to Calvary Chapel Kelowna.
Henry says contact tracing has shown that there have been transmission events around B.C. through gatherings where people are socializing such as weddings, funerals and parties.
“The best thing we can do is — all of us — is to take a step back from our social interactions,” said Dr. Henry, as she reminded British Columbians to travel less and connect with others virtually.
We can stand together, she said, by staying apart.
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. Island Health has not posted any school exposures to date.
B.C. has posted detailed information about the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases from January to August 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 August 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 (CDC) here.
COVID-19 in Canada: Quebec raises alert levels in large cities, Ontario declares second COVID 19 wave
Quebec moved its most populous regions to a maximum alert-level on Monday and Ontario declared itself in the grips of a second COVID-19 wave as both provinces grappled with rising caseloads.
Premier Francois Legault said the greater Montreal and Quebec City areas, along with the Chaudiere-Appalaches region south of the provincial capital, will enter the red alert level on Oct. 1. For the next 28 days, bars, restaurant dining areas, cinemas and other venues in those regions will be closed, he said.
“The situation has become critical,” Legault told reporters, as the province reported 750 new COVID-19 cases Monday. “The number of cases is rising. If we don’t want our hospitals to be submerged and if we want to limit the number of deaths, we must act strongly right now.”
The lockdowns don’t apply to the retail sector or to any other businesses, Legault said: “We want to make sure mothers and fathers can still make a living.”
Legault said schools will remain open, noting that about one per cent of the province’s schoolchildren are at home after outbreaks in their schools. If Quebecers follow the health directives, Legault added, he is optimistic that schools will not have to be shut.
Also in the three red zones, gatherings in private residences are no longer permitted.
Earlier Monday, Premier Doug Ford said the 700 new cases reported in Ontario — the highest daily increase since the start of the health crisis — were “deeply concerning” and warned this round of the pandemic could hit harder than the first.
“We know that this wave will be more complicated, more complex,” he said, again entreating residents to follow public health guidelines meant to help contain the spread of the virus.
The public’s willingness to adhere to those guidelines will determine if this is “a wave or a tsunami,” he said.
Most of the new cases in Ontario are in the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa.
Big cities are also proving to be hot spots in Quebec, where new cases of COVID-19 have spiked in recent days.
Aside from the 750 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday, health authorities reported one additional death linked to the virus. On Sunday, Quebec recorded 896 new cases of COVID-19 — its highest single-day jump in months.
Officials in both provinces have hinted at the possibility of additional restrictions in the areas experiencing a surge in cases but suggested there would not be a return to the widespread lockdowns imposed earlier this year.
While Ford said Monday that “everything is on the table” when it comes to flattening this second curve, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health said the province would take a “surgical” approach in addressing mounting cases in a few regions.
Ontario and Quebec have been the hardest hit by COVID-19, representing close to 80 per cent of all cases in Canada.
Manitoba reported 39 new cases on Monday – 22 of them in Winnipeg, which has recently seen a spike in cases. The province has also recorded its 20th death linked to the virus.
And Nunavut is reporting seven presumptive cases of COVID-19 at a mine in the western region of the territory.
Dr. Michael Patterson, the territory’s chief public health officer, says in a news release that the seven cases are at Hope Bay gold mine, 125 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay.
Patterson’s office is waiting for test results to come back from a southern lab.
Nunavut confirmed two cases of the virus at Hope Bay on Sept. 19, but the government says there is no established link between them and the seven presumptive cases announced today.
The release says the presumptive cases and all known contacts are isolating.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s efforts to fast-track its newest COVID-19 economic recovery package stirred outrage from the opposition, who argued the Liberals forced the issue by proroguing Parliament last month.
The proposed package would establish more flexibility to qualify for employment insurance and set up three new benefits for Canadians who won’t qualify for EI but are still grappling with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new program aims to fill the gap left by the end of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which took effect in the spring and expired over the weekend.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pleaded with the public to respect public health guidelines, as Canada’s top doctor said the country is “at a crossroads” when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal government also warned last week that short-term lockdowns may be necessary to prevent small clusters of cases from turning into large outbreaks.
The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 3:46 p.m. PDT on Sept. 28, 2020:
There are 155,307 confirmed cases in Canada (7 presumptive, 155,300 confirmed including 9,278 deaths, 132,606 resolved)
- Quebec: 72,651 confirmed (including 5,826 deaths, 61,629 resolved)
- Ontario: 50,531 confirmed (including 2,840 deaths, 43,127 resolved)
- Alberta: 17,749 confirmed (including 265 deaths, 15,935 resolved)
- British Columbia: 8,908 confirmed (including 233 deaths, 7,346 resolved)
- Manitoba: 1,919 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,281 resolved)
- Saskatchewan: 1,892 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,719 resolved)
- Nova Scotia: 1,087 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,021 resolved)
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 272 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 267 resolved)
- New Brunswick: 200 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 191 resolved)
- Prince Edward Island: 58 confirmed (including 57 resolved)
- Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)
- Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
- Nunavut: No confirmed cases, 7 presumptive
- Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 33.2 million. The official death toll has now surpassed one million.
Officials have said the cases and global death toll probably underestimate the true total.
Watch Dr. Bonnie Henry on Sept. 28, 2020, below:
With files from CBC and Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
Alexa Huffman
