Dr. Bonnie Henry Sept. 14, 2020.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/BC Government

It’s time “stick to six” again, B.C.’s Health Minister said today, as the province's COVID-19 caseload surged again.

Since Friday 317 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed and an additional six people have died.

That raises the total number of cases to date to 7,279 and the death toll to 219, prompting a reminder that it's time to tighten social circles. Hospitalizations have risen to 58 — up from 42 last Friday. Only eight of the news cases were in the Interior Health Authority region.

“Sticking-to-six is our constant guide for the maximum number of people we socialize with outside of our household bubble — it stops the spread and saves lives,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said. “So let's remember this: Our health system is prepared and so are we.”

Dix said B.C. has already demonstrated an ability to turn the curve down and going forward it’s possible again.

Dr. Bonnie Henry had a similar message, though the new cases and the corresponding higher number of hospitalizations are causing concern. There is starting to be "spillover" from younger demographics to older, more vulnerable ones now.

“This is the time for back to school, to work, back to doing all we can to flatten our COVID-19 curve again,” Dr. Henry said. “The number of new cases is, as you can imagine, placing a heavy strain on our public health teams, and is a concern for me, and I know for many of us.”

Now is the time, Dr. Henry said, for people to do their part in putting an end to the spread before flu season.

“The symptoms of COVID-19 can be very mild, particularly in young, healthy people. You may think of seasonal allergies, a mild cold or now, perhaps, irritation from the wildfire smoke,” she said. “But if you have concerns or doubts, stay away from others and get a test.”

It’s being shown over and over again, people can easily and inadvertently spread this virus to people they are closest to.

“We’ve seen this in some of the recent workplaces and community exposures and tragically we have seen it when we had celebrations,” she said. “Now, we need to find ways to celebrate and to include those who may be most vulnerable to COVID-19, but include them in ways that are safe. We need to do this to protect our elders, and our seniors.”

Of all the cases, 2,557 are in Vancouver Coastal Health, 3,754 people in the Fraser Health region, 195 people in the Vancouver Island health region, 473 people in Interior Health region, 216 now in the Northern Health region, and 84 people who reside outside of Canada.

There are now up to 1,594 active cases in B.C. in all health authorities, of whom 58 now are in hospital, and 16 are in critical care or ICU. Last Friday the number was 42. There are now 3,047 people who are under active public health monitoring and 5,446 people who have covered recovered.

— This story was corrected at 4:16 p.m. Sept. 14. The original version said 11 new cases were in Interior Health. In fact, it's eight cases.

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