FILE PHOTO: Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaking at a press conference March 18.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK
July 28, 2020 - 3:22 PM
There have been 23 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death in B.C. over the last 24 hours.
That raises the total number of cases across the province to 3,523 and the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 194.
Of the cases reported today, July 28, five are in the Interior Health region. There were 353 reported yesterday, and 358 today.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,067 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,815 in the Fraser Health region, 143 in the Island Health region, 80 in the Northern Health region and 60 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
There are currently 253 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,076 people who tested positive have recovered.
B.C. experienced a resurgence of cases in the aftermath of the Canada Day long weekend and now Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix are making a plea for more reasonable behaviour in the days ahead.
"As we all look ahead to the upcoming B.C. Day long weekend, let's ensure it is a safe weekend for all of us," Dr. Henry and Dix said in a joint statement.
"Whether it is enjoying the local parks, staying at a vacation rental or out for dinner, keeping our groups small and maintaining safe distances will protect ourselves and those around us. And if you are in a vacation rental accommodation, whether a hotel room or houseboat, new provincial health officer orders mean you can have a maximum of five visitors and you must take down their contact information."
Dr. Henry amended the order on mass gatherings, to limit the number of people in short term rentals and vacation accommodations, yesterday, July 28.
The order covers places like houses that are being rented out, boat rentals, cabins, yurts, as well as hotel rooms.
"The number of people is limited to the capacity of the space, plus up to a maximum of five visitors," she said. "That means you cannot have a large group of people over to party in your hotel room or on your boat."
The responsibility to enforce these rules will fall on the owner of the property, and to ensure contact tracing information must be collected for everyone, guests and visitors alike.
"This means that should somebody in your party have COVID-19 we are able to contact you all quickly and efficiently to prevent ongoing spread in our communities," she said.
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