Health Minister Adrian Dix
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Province of B.C.
August 06, 2020 - 3:52 PM
There were a number incidents over the B.C. Day long weekend where people partied while ignoring COVID-19 prevention rules and increased its spread.
“That’s enough now,” health minister Adrian Dix said during a COVID-19 update today, Aug. 6. “The goal of public health officials isn’t to ruin anyone’s summer or their chances to party. That’s the role of COVID-19.”
Dix did not identify any specific party places but stressed large groups partying are simply putting down a welcome map for the pandemic and that needs to stop.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there were 45 to 46 cases coming from a party in the Lower Mainland but more than 400 people may be been exposed to the virus because the infected people came from overlapping social groups.
"That's our warning right now," Dr. Henry said. "That's where we're seeing the virus get a chance to transmit to potentially large numbers of people."
He noted that there are 1,518 people in B.C. self-isolating because of these activities, as a preventative measure.
Dix praised civic leaders and Interior Health officials for jumping on a community exposure in July which has resulted in a decline in the number of new cases in the region.
In the last 24 hours, there was only one new case in the Interior Health region while the provincial count went up by 47, with most of those in the Lower Mainland.
That brings the provincial total to 3,881. Of those, 385 are in the Interior Health region.
There have been 2,045 cases in Fraser Health region, 1,143 in Vancouver Coastal region, 146 in Vancouver Island region and 93 in the Northern Health region.
There have been no new deaths, leaving that total at 195. There have been 3,315 people who have recovered, 11 who are in hospital, of which five are in intensive care and there are 371 active cases.
There have been outbreaks in two Lower Mainland long-term care homes and on a coastal vessel registered in the United States. People who visited Lions Bay Beach Park in the Lower Mainland between July 26 and 31 are asked to limit their contact with others and monitor themselves for symptoms.
Dr. Henry said people need to support those who are self-isolating.
“Out of fear and concern it can be tempting to shut our doors or turn our backs on each other,” she said. “It’s, once again, our time to show kindness and compassion.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 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