Povincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Province of British Columbia
October 29, 2020 - 3:43 PM
With 234 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is asking that no one hold Halloween parties this weekend.
Dr. Henry pointed out at the COVID-19 update today, Oct. 29, that a woman in her 80s, who died in the past 24 hours in the Fraser Health region, attended a birthday party with less than 10 people, one of whom had COVID-19.
“Even though it was a small party in a person’s home, the majority of the people in that home came down with COVID-19,” she said. “It reminds us that this virus can’t tell the difference.”
Trick-or-treating can still be safely done, Dr. Henry said, but people need to be in small groups, keep their space from others and respect those homes where people choose not to participate.
Most of all, no parties should be held because people are too tempted to eat, drink and hug indoors. It's better to get together in places like restaurants that have safety measures in place. Homes don't have plexiglass barriers and different entry and exit points, she noted, adding that people tend to relax their vigilance inside their homes.
She knows how hard that can be herself, she said, as she spoke from Surrey where she was seeing colleagues and friends for the first time in a long time.
“It can be hard to stay apart,” Dr. Henry said. “We want to hug each other, or at least shake hands. We can’t do that right now. We have to stay apart.”
The 234 new cases announced today brings the provincial total to 14,109. Seven of those were in the Interior Health region, bringing that total to 734. The provincial death total now sits at 261.
There are 86 people in hospital with 24 of those in intensive care. There are 2,344 active cases, 5,714 people are being monitored and 11,418 have recovered.
Since the start of the pandemic in January, there have been 8,036 cases in the Fraser Health region, 4,588 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 256 in the Vancouver Island Health region, 406 in the Northern Health region and 89 among foreign residents.
The provincial health officer's briefing today was held in Surrey in a show of support for health workers there who are dealing with the highest number of new cases and highest concentration of cases in B.C.
It also marked the return of Adrian Dix to the briefings as Health Minister. He stopped attending after the provincial election was called in September.
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