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

“Today, we are reporting 335 new cases, including seven epi-linked cases, for a total of 16,135 cases in British Columbia.

“There are 3,120 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 7,133 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and 12,659 people who tested positive have recovered.

“Currently, 92 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 25 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 5,097 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 9,439 in the Fraser Health region, 274 in the Island Health region, 803 in the Interior Health region, 432 in the Northern Health region and 90 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

“There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 273 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There have been three new health-care facility outbreaks at Hawthorne Seniors Care Community, White Rock Senior Village and Village at Mill Creek. The outbreak at Peace Portal Seniors Village has been declared over. In total, 29 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.

“There has been one new community outbreak at La Casa resort in West Kelowna. The outbreak at Tim Horton’s in Merritt has been declared over. There also continue to be exposure events around the province. Public alerts and notifications are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website and on all health authorities' websites.

“While our experiences with COVID-19 may be unique, when it comes to how our province fares through this pandemic, we are all connected.

“Here in B.C., we have one COVID-19 curve because the risks are everywhere and no community or person is immune. The virus doesn’t recognize community boundaries or regional borders.

“As we have seen before, a small cluster in one region can quickly become an outbreak in another. That is why provincewide orders are in place throughout B.C. and why we all need to use our layers of protection – all the time.

“When transmission increases in one area, we focus our public health efforts to contain the further spread and ask everyone to step up their own efforts and preventive actions at the same time.

“Our layers of protection are how we protect each other and, importantly, work best when used together. Let’s remember to wash our hands frequently and wear a mask when inside close or public spaces, and let’s also keep our groups small inside and outside our homes.

“Doing these things together is what keeps our communities strong and keeps everyone safe. These actions are what ensures capacity within our health-care system, protects those who are most vulnerable and allows our well-being to continue.”

Learn More:

BCCDC’s safer celebrations guidance: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/social-interactions/safer-celebrations

To learn more about the October 5 modelling presentation, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/COVID19_Going_Forward_Oct_2020.pdf

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

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 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

A backgrounder follows.