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 providing case updates for four 24-hour reporting periods.

“In the first reporting period from July 31 to Aug. 1, we had 43 new cases. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 2, we had 29 new cases. From Aug. 2 to Aug. 3, we had 46 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we had 28 new cases.

“This represents 146 new cases, including four epi-linked cases since we reported on Friday, for a total of 3,787 cases in British Columbia.

“There are 319 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,273 people who tested positive have recovered.

“Currently, eight individuals are 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 1,119 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,989 in the Fraser Health region, 146 in the Island Health region, 377 in the Interior Health region, 91 in the Northern Health region and 65 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

“Gratefully, we report that there have been no new deaths. We continue to offer our condolences to the families and friends of the 195 people who have passed away from COVID-19 and to everyone who has lost loved ones during this pandemic.

“There has been one new health-care facility outbreak in the Fraser Health region at Maple Ridge Seniors Village long-term care facility. The outbreak at Mission Memorial Hospital has been declared over. In total, three long-term care or assisted-living facilities have active outbreaks.

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

“The source of transmission in B.C. is varied. Many continue to be related to private gatherings or small parties from travel within B.C. and Canada, as well as from exposure in workplaces. In all of these cases, the common factors are close contact, crowds and mixing for an extended period of time, both indoors and outside.

“It is always a concern when COVID-19 spreads unchecked and the source of the transmission is unknown. Coming together for summer weekend activities is when many people can be inadvertently exposed to the virus.

“The immediate days following a long weekend are when people can also unknowingly spread the virus to others. That is why the next two weeks will be important for all us.

“Coming out of the B.C. Day long weekend, we all need to pay attention to how we are feeling and contact 811 should any symptoms develop.

“We also all need to pay attention to where the exposure events have been so if need be, we can immediately limit our time with others and take precautions to protect our families, friends and colleagues.

“The alerts are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website and health authority websites. They provide details on where the potential exposure occurred and what actions you need to take – whether you need to immediately self-isolate or simply monitor for symptoms.

“When there has been an exposure related to a workplace, many businesses are also notifying their customers and temporarily closing for additional cleaning. We encourage businesses to keep doing this.

“When public health teams or businesses issue an alert, it shows us that our monitoring and response is working because we have identified the source of transmission and who may have been exposed.

“COVID-19 is going to be in our community for some time to come. And while it remains in B.C., we need to keep it low and slow.

“When we spend time with friends, visit another community on our summer holidays or take a flight to see our family, the actions we take make a difference to our COVID-19 curve.

“We all know what we need to do to keep each other safe and healthy. Our good times guide is a helpful playbook for how to continue to have fun safely this summer.

“Let’s make sure each day this summer we all play safe and stay safe, and continue to take the necessary precautions to protect our province from COVID-19.”

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
  • Fraser Health
    • Dania Home long-term care facility
    • Maple Ridge Seniors Village long-term facility

Learn More:

Follow Dr. Bonnie Henry’s Good Times Guide: https://goodtimes.gov.bc.ca/

For a listing of the community exposure events, visit:
BC Centre for Disease Control (flights, worksites, 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 amended order on mass gatherings, 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 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 the latest modelling information presented on July 20, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/modelling-projections

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

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

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

For a traditional Chinese translation: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020.08.04_New_ExistingCasesCOVID-19_Chinese(Traditional).pdf

For a French translation: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020.08.04_New_ExistingCasesCOVID-19_French.pdf