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

“Today, we are announcing three 24-hour reporting periods. In the first reporting period from Sept. 18 to 19 we had 121 new cases. From Sept. 19 to 20 we had 117 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we have had a further 128 new cases.

“This represents a total of 366 new cases, including seven epi-linked cases, for a total of 8,208 cases in British Columbia.

“There are 1,987 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 3,233 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 5,972 people who tested positive have recovered.

“Currently, 60 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 21 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 2,945 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 4,211 in the Fraser Health region, 203 in the Island Health region, 508 in the Interior Health region, 255 in the Northern Health region and 86 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

“There have been four new COVID-19 related deaths, two in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, one in Fraser Health and one in Northern Health, for a total of 227 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 Yaletown House in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. The outbreak at the Queens Park acute-care facility has been declared over. In total, 12 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and three acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

“There have been no new community outbreaks, although there continue to be community exposure events.

“Public alerts and school notifications are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website, as well as on health authorities’ websites, providing details on where the potential exposure occurred and what actions to take – whether to self-isolate or monitor for symptoms.

“COVID-19 requires us to set new routines and new boundaries to keep ourselves, our families and our friends safe this fall and winter.

“Take a few moments today to determine the safe distances for each of your activities.

“The less time you spend with someone, the farther apart you should be. If you’ve never met the person before, then maintaining two metres distance is very important.

“However, for your household bubble and ‘safe six’ friends, closer is okay, unless someone is more vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19. For classmates and colleagues who you see most days, the safe distance lies somewhere in between.

“The easiest way to set these new routines and help to protect our communities as we progress into respiratory season is to stick with the same group of friends, the same colleagues or classmates.

“While a provincial election has been called today, B.C.’s COVID-19 response plan will continue uninterrupted. As has been done since the start of the pandemic, a daily COVID-19 update will be provided to keep everyone in B.C. informed.

“Like other parts of our economy, the provincial health officer has also worked with Elections BC to set the guidelines for a safe election process.

“The guidelines include how political parties and their candidates need to keep themselves, their staff and volunteers, and their communities safe during the campaign, as well as how the elections process needs to occur to ensure the safety of everyone.

“Let’s take this first day of fall to set our personal safety plans for the season ahead. The actions we take today will help ensure the well-being of our communities tomorrow, so let’s do all we can today and every day to keep COVID-19 low and slow.” 

Quick Facts:

• Assisted living, long-term care homes and seniors’ rental buildings with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks are as follows:
  • Vancouver Coastal Health
    • OPAL by Element assisted-living facility
    • Point Grey Private Hospital long-term care facility
    • Royal Arch Masonic Home long-term care facility (second outbreak)
    • Yaletown House long-term care facility
  • Fraser Health
    • Bear Creek Villa independent-living facility
    • Cherington Place long-term care facility
    • Evergreen Hamlets long-term care facility
    • Kin Village assisted-living facility
    • Milieu Children and Family Services Society community-living facility
    • New Vista Care Home long-term care facility
    • Normanna long-term care facility
    • Rideau Retirement Centre independent-living facility

Learn More:

To find the provincial health officer's orders, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

For the last modelling information presented on Sept. 3, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/COVID19_Going_Forward_Sept_2020.pdf

To see a map of COVID-19 cases by local health area, visit:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data

If you are experiencing symptoms, find a collection centre near you to get tested:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/testing

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

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 the second monthly progress report on B.C.’s surgical renewal plan, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020_surgical-renewal-commitment-progress-report-June-July-2020.pdf

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 

A backgrounder follows.