Dr. Bonnie Henry Aug. 4, 2020.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/BC Government

There have been 146 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. since last Friday.

That raises the total number of cases in B.C.to 3,787, including 377 in Interior Health, 1,119 people in Vancouver Coastal Health, 1,989 in the Fraser Health region, 146 people on Vancouver Island health and 91 people in the Northern Health region.

“As you can tell, there have been a number of new cases over the long weekend,” B.C.’s. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “This was not unexpected. We knew that events that had happened in the previous couple of weeks would lead to more people who had been exposed, developing illness.”

Many new cases, she said, continue to be related to private gatherings or small parties that happened over the last month.

“We also have had a number of exposures in workplaces, where people have passed it amongst work colleagues,” Dr. Henry said. “In all of these cases, the common factors are really the same. It's about the things that we're doing when we're in close contact with people, and that includes; talking, laughing, joking around, sharing drinks, sharing food and crowds.”

These crowds often gathered indoors, which is a higher risk for spreading the virus.

Dr. Henry cautioned British Columbians to proceed with caution because the risk for a dramatic uptick is present.

With that in mind, she asks that anybody who has been exposed over this past few weeks stay in isolation, monitor for symptoms and stop the spread of COVID-19 by not interacting with others.

If someone is sick, or have been in contact with someone who is, they cannot go to work.

While the numbers are higher than B.C. saw during the lockdown, Dr. Henry said that she feels that for the most part the province is still "on top of it."

"We watch what's happened in the U.S. and we know this virus can spread easily if we are not careful," she said. "When we identify areas where the transmission occurs we tell you about that."

The numbers that concern her the most are the cases where they don't know where they are coming from.

For the most part, she said, they can find people easily and that can be done because the numbers are kept low.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2020