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 737 new cases of COVID-19, including six epi-linked cases, for a total of 40,797 cases in British Columbia.

“There are 9,589 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 342 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 87 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

“Currently, 12,008 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 29,598 people who tested positive have recovered.

“Since we last reported, we have had 119 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 469 new cases in the Fraser Health region, eight in the Island Health region, 99 in the Interior Health region, 41 in the Northern Health region and one new case of a person who resides outside of Canada.

“There have been 11 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 598 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have had three new health-care facility outbreaks at Agassiz Seniors Community, Hilton Villa Seniors Community and St. Michael’s Centre. The outbreaks at Veterans Memorial Lodge, Amica White Rock and Burnaby Hospital are over.

“There has been one new community outbreak at Regent Christian Academy.

“COVID-19 continues to circulate in our communities and the risk to all of us remains high. This is why it is so important to follow the public health orders and to use our layers of protection until the vaccine is available for all of us.

“This weekend, take a step back from the usual holiday rush. Take the time to get outside and enjoy a quieter weekend with those in your household. Show your loved ones you care by staying local and staying away right now.

“We want to ensure we are moving into this stage of our COVID-19 response in the best position possible, which means working together to make sure we don’t fall back as we move forward with our immunization program.

“We will get through this storm by supporting each other in our shared efforts. Let’s break the chain of transmission in our province and do our part to keep our communities, neighbours, friends and loved ones safe.”

Learn More:

For updated provincial health officer's (PHO) orders and new guidance:

For details on new restrictions, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

For updated PHO 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

Find out where to get tested:

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, anxiety and other supports:

For mental health and anxiety support, visit: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or: www.anxietycanada.com
Or visit the BCCDC for further supports: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/about-covid-19/mental-well-being-during-covid-19

For more information on overdoses, visit: https://www.stopoverdose.gov.bc.ca

People in BC experiencing violence can access VictimLink, a toll-free, confidential multilingual service available 24/7 by calling or texting 1 800 563-0808 or emailing: VictimLinkBC@bc211.ca

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.

COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information by health authority:

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 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.