Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia:

“Today, we are announcing 53 new cases, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 3,934 cases in British Columbia.

“There are 386 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,353 people who tested positive have recovered.

“There are 11 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, four of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

“Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,167 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 2,069 in the Fraser Health region, 147 in the Island Health region, 389 in the Interior Health region, 93 in the Northern Health region and 69 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

“There have been no new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 195 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Derby Manor in the Fraser Health region. In total, five long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility have active outbreaks.

“There are no new community outbreaks. However, there continue to be community exposure events throughout the province and on flights into and out of British Columbia.

“Alerts are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website, as well as on health authorities’ websites, providing details on where the potential exposure occurred and what actions you need to take – whether you need to immediately self-isolate, or monitor for symptoms.

“As we see new COVID-19 hot spots emerge and the new cases creep up in every health authority, we have to keep our firewall strong. Like a wildfire, COVID-19 has the potential to rapidly burn out of control and we need to put out these flare-ups.

“Today, more than 1,500 people throughout our province are self-isolating, unable to leave their home unless it is to get medical care, because they have COVID-19 or have had a high-risk exposure to the virus. This is a concern and something we can change.

“We can make a difference and we know what we need to do, because we have done so already. We are calling on everyone to make COVID-19 safety our way of life – this weekend and every weekend.

“In step with our increased interactions comes the need to ensure we are taking the steps to protect ourselves and those around us. We have adapted our activities, put layers of protection in place and safely restarted our province.

“Now is not the time to relax and let down our guard. Let’s keep our bubbles small, use our layers of protection and give people the space to stay safe.

“We have been leaders in how to protect our communities and how to restart our economy. Let’s continue to be the place that leads with kindness and compassion, that works together and keeps COVID-19 low and slow.

“This weekend, let’s continue to hold the line and remember that we can keep our curve flat. We can continue to do that by staying committed to each other.”

Quick Facts:

• Assisted living, long-term care homes and seniors' rental buildings with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks are as follows:
  • Vancouver Coastal Health:
    • Holy Family Hospital long-term care facility
    • Richmond Lions Manor long-term care facility
  • Fraser Health
    • Dania Home long-term care facility
    • Maple Ridge Seniors Village long-term care facility
    • Derby Manor independent-living facility

Learn More:

For mental health and anxiety support, visit: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or: www.anxietycanada.com

If you have plans this weekend, follow Dr. Bonnie Henry’s Good Times Guide: https://goodtimes.gov.bc.ca/

For a listing of the community exposure events, go to:
BCCDC (flights, work sites, etc): http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures
Fraser Health: fraserhealth.ca/covid19exposure
Interior Health: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/
Island Health: https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/outbreaks-and-exposures
Northern Health: https://www.northernhealth.ca/health-topics/outbreaks-and-exposures
Vancouver Coastal: http://www.vch.ca/covid-19/public-exposures

For B.C.'s surgical renewal plan and the first report on its progress from July 21, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020HLTH0228-001337

For more information about BC's Restart Plan, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/restartbc

For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For non-health related information, including financial, child care and education supports, travel, transportation and essential service information, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19
Or call 1 888 COVID19 (1 888 268-4319) between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Pacific time), seven days a week.

For the latest videos and livestreaming of COVID-19 media availabilities, visit:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCProvincialGovernment/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCGovNews 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ProvinceofBC