BC's COVID Surge continues: 11 new deaths, 717 new cases of COVID-19 from Tuesday's update

The month of incrementally bad news continued on Tuesday, as Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix released the most recent update on COVID-19, marking another one day record for reports of COVID cases in the province.

“Today, we are reporting 717 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 23,661 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 6,589 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 198 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 63 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

Currently, 10,960 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 16,469 people who tested positive have recovered. 

“There have been 11 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 310 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic."

We have had 177 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 484 in the Fraser Health region, 16 in the Island Health region, 18 in the Interior Health region, 21 in the Northern Health region, a significant one day spike that brings the Northern BC count to 540 cases since January.

One new case of COVID has been recorded with a person who resides outside of Canada. 

The escalation of reported cases served as the preamble to another reminder for the public to work together towards the goal of reducing the steadily rising curve, with the two health officials noting that increased levels are now being seen in all regions of the province.

“We need everyone working together to stay small, stay local and help us slow the spread of COVID-19 in our province. 

The biggest impact you can make is through the small actions you take every day. 

Just as we put on our jackets to keep us warm in the rain and snow, so too are our COVID-19 safety layers there to protect all of us. Washing your hands, keeping a safe distance and always wearing a mask in places where you are around people you don’t know – these things make a difference. 

We have seen an increase in new cases on Vancouver Island, in the Interior and in the North, many of which are connected to travel to and from the Lower Mainland. That is why is it important that we stay local and travel less right now. 

When we spend time inside with people from outside of our household, our work group or school cohort, the risks increase for everyone. Instead, let’s stay connected virtually and make it a safer winter for all of us.”

You can review the Tuesday COVID update here.  

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

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