Eleven new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Health region on Monday, as the province saw nearly a thousand new cases in just two days.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 998 new cases in B.C. on Monday, since her last update on Saturday. The majority of the cases were concentrated in the Lower Mainland, where Henry imposed additional restrictions on Saturday. The additional restrictions in Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health will be in place for two weeks.
“What we need to do now is break those chains of transmission,” Henry said. “We know those transmissions are happening at a rapid rate, particularly in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions.”
Throughout B.C. there were 4,891 active cases of COVID-19, and 9,179 people being monitored because of potential exposure to the disease.
As of Monday, 133 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 43 in intensive care, Henry said.
Five people died of COVID-19 in B.C since Saturday’s update – three in Fraser Health and two in Vancouver Coastal Health – bringing the province’s death toll from the pandemic to 281.
The number of active cases in Northern Health wasn’t provided. But on Monday, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 45 active cases. One person was hospitalized and in intensive care with COVID-19 in the Northern Health region on Monday.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been 469 cases of COVID0-19 in the north.
Henry urged British Columbians, especially those in the Vancouver area, to dial back their social interactions. Much of the transmission happening in the province has been linked to social gatherings, she said.
Now is the time to postpone plans to travel or hold social gatherings like family dinners, she said.
“It is a short-term pause on non-essential activities and travel. Don’t have that backyard barbecue, postpone that brunch with friends,” Henry said. “We have been through hard times before. Remembrance Day is a reminder of that. We are asking for small sacrifices to get through this crisis to.”
