British Columbia’s Covid-19 case count has taken another significant jump
There have been 81 new cases since Friday, bringing the total to 3,500.
That includes 34 new cases in Interior Health (IH).
There are 264 active cases, with 11 of those people in hospital and 3 in critical care or intensive care.
Two people are in hospital in Interior Health.
As of today, 78 cases in individuals from IH are currently linked to the Kelowna cluster.
Twelve (12) additional cases from other jurisdictions are also linked to the cluster (Vancouver Coastal (5) and Fraser Health (7)).
The total cases associated with the cluster is now 90 – investigations into recent cases are ongoing.
IH is reporting no new cases at Kelowna General Hospital or at the Oliver farm over the weekend.
There have been two more deaths, both residents in long term care in the Vancouver Coastal Health Region, for a total of 193.
A total of 3,043 people who have had the virus have recovered.
Dr. Bonnie Henry announced one new community outbreak at Fraser Valley Packing, a blueberry packing plant in the Abbotsford area, with 15 cases associated with that facility.
There are now 14 cases associated with an outbreak at Haida Gwaii area.
“We now have over 1,010 people who are required to self isolate in BC because they have been identified as being exposed to Covid-19 and are at high risk. This is not optional. This is a requirement,” said Dr. Henry, provincial health officer.
Dr. Henry changed her order on mass gatherings to limit the number of people in short term rentals and vacation accommodations.
“That includes places like houses that are being rented out, boat rentals, cabins, and hotel rooms. The number of people is limited to the capacity of the space plus up to a maximum of five visitors. That means you can not have a large group of people to party in your hotel room or on your boat during our Covid summer. It’s the responsibility up to the owner of the property to ensure the order is adhered to and to ensure contact tracing info is obtained from everyone,” said Henry at Monday’s news update.
“Eighty-one cases over three days is something we take seriously. Any number of active cases are numbers we take very seriously,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Dix and Henry said people should be planning for their B.C. Day long weekend and how to play it safe and follow the guidelines.
People driving vehicles with out of province — or U-S license plates — continue to be harassed by some B.C. residents with Covid cases on the rise in the province.
Premier John Horgan said earlier on Monday it’s important not to jump to conclusions, but he also says people who are driving vehicles with out-of-province plates should be prepared, and those drivers may want to take a bus or ride a bicycle if they are feeling harassed.
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