146 new Covid-19 cases, ‘close contact’ cited as main reason

Aug 4, 2020 | 3:42 PM

B.C. is reporting 146 new Covid-19 cases since Friday, with nine new cases in the Interior.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said many of the new cases relate to private gatherings or small parties that happened over the past month.

“This was not unexpected,” Henry said at Tuesday’s news update. “We knew events that had happened in the previous couple of weeks would lead to more people that were exposed and developing illness. We are now seeing people who were exposed up to two weeks ago. This is a concern as the majority are related to what happened prior to this long weekend. The source of these cases is varied.”

Henry noted contact tracing is underway.

Henry added some of the new cases related to travel within B.C. and Canada and some are people who have travelled here from outside of Canada.

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“We also have had a number of exposures in workplaces where people have passed it amongst work colleagues. In all of these cases, the common factors are really the same. It’s about the things were doing when were in close contact with people and that includes talking, laughing, joking around, sharing drinks and foods, larger crowds and often indoors,” she said.

On a positive note, there have been no new COVID-related deaths since Friday with the total still at 195.

There were 43 new cases from Friday to Saturday, 29 from Saturday to Sunday, 46 from Sunday to Monday and 28 from Monday to Tuesday.

There are 319 active cases with eight people hospitalized and four patients in critical or ICU care.

A total of 3,273 people who had the virus have recovered.

There is one new health care outbreak at a Maple Ridge seniors facility with one staff case (three total active outbreaks)

The exposure event at Fraser Valley Packers now has 74 connected cases.

Interior Health said there are now 149 linked cases to the Kelowna cluster (from 137 on Friday).

There are no new cases for health care workers at KGH.

Meantime, the BC government has extended the provincial state of emergency another two weeks.

“In recent weeks, British Columbians have been reminded that COVID-19 case counts can easily rise if we’re not careful,” said Premier John Horgan. “As we continue our slow and safe approach to Phase 3, extending the provincial state of emergency will continue to provide government with the resources we need to respond to any new challenges. This is not the time to let our guard down.”

The state of emergency is extended through the end of the day on Aug. 18, 2020, to allow government to continue to take the necessary actions to keep British Columbians safe and manage immediate concerns, such as recent outbreaks in some areas of the province.

“We still need to be able to access the necessary tools to support communities as they combat COVID-19 and its impacts,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “We will continue to extend this provincial state of emergency as long as necessary so we can ensure we are able to respond quickly and effectively to this pandemic.”

Case counts by health region: