British Columbia has marked its highest three-day case count since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1,120 new cases in the province announced Monday.
There were 352 new cases identified Friday to Saturday, followed by 389 Saturday to Sunday and 379 in the past 24 hours.
A total of 36 new cases came in the Interior Health region, bringing the region’s total to 741.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in B.C. to 15,501 since the pandemic started. Of these, 12,287 have fully recovered.
Over the weekend, 24,771 COVID-19 tests were performed throughout the province, and in a two-day period, about 5,000 calls were made to 8-1-1.
Across the province, there are currently 2,945 active cases, and 6,448 people self-isolating as a result of exposure to a known case.
Of the active cases, 90 people are being treated in hospital, 19 of whom are in ICU.
The majority of these (53) are in hospital in the Fraser Health region, and the remaining 37 are in hospital in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. There is nobody in hospital in the other B.C. health authorities.
Six new deaths were announced Monday, five in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and one in the Fraser Health region. All were in long-term care facilities.
There have been three new healthcare outbreaks declared, at the Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre, Hamilton Village Care Centre, and Rotary Manor retirement home in Dawson Creek.
The outbreak at Baillie House has been declared over.
In total, there are now 28 healthcare outbreaks within the province. Twenty-six of these are in long-term or assisted living facilities, and two are in acute care facilities.
No new community outbreaks were reported over the weekend, but community exposure events continue to occur. The outbreak at J&L Beef Ltd. has been declared over.
Deputy provincial health minister Dr. Réka Gustafson says the numbers are worrying, but she has faith the province can handle the current situation.
“These numbers are concerning for all of us, but we have learned a great deal about COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. We have learned what living with the virus looks like and what we need to do to keep ourselves, those around us and our communities safe.
“Our goal is to continue to minimize severe illness and death, balanced with keeping as much as possible open and active in our communities.”
She expressed concern about the recent surge in cases in the Fraser Health region, calling for increased effort and stepped up focus from public health officials and residents.
Minister of Health Adrian Dix said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry was taking a couple of “well-deserved days off,” but will return to work on Wednesday.
