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Another 68 COVID-19 cases in B.C, new record set for most active

No new cases in Northern Health
Jess Balzer
Jess Balzer
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B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix and Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Reka Gustafson. (via Government of BC Flickr)

The numbers continue to climb.

In a written statement, B.C.'s Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Réka Gustafson and Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced today (Aug. 19) another 68 COVID-19 cases have been discovered in the past day for a grand total of 4,745.

Northern Health still has a total of 120 since the pandemic began.

Officials announced there have been no new deaths from the virus, keeping the fatality rate at 198.

However, among B.C.'s cases, 798 are active, which is a new record and 55 more people than the 743 previous plateau set just yesterday (Aug. 18).

Ten people are in hospital, while four are in intensive care and 3,749 have fully recovered.

The 798 active cases as of today is a new record for B.C. Yesterday saw the second-highest at 775. 

Currently, there are 2,452 people under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases.

"Testing for COVID-19 is an important part of our provincial pandemic response," the statement reads. "We continue to step up the capacity, in each health region and in our labs, to match our public health activities.

“Testing allows us to trace and contain the spread. The tests tell us who is positive for the virus, as well as how far the virus may have spread among close contacts when an outbreak or community cluster occurs.

“We know as the number of new cases increases, demand for testing also goes up. That is why each health region has been working to add further assessment and testing capacity. New assessmemt and testing centres and extended hours of service have been added in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions to address increases in demand. Today, we have the ability to complete approximately 8,000 tests every day."

VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH

  • Arbutus Care Centre long-term care facility
  • Holy Family Hospital long-term care facility

FRASER HEALTH

  • Czorny Alzheimer Centre long-term care facility
  • Dania Home long-term care facility
  • Derby Manor long-term care facility
  • George Derby Centre long-term care facility
  • Maple Ridge Seniors Village assisted living facility
  • New Vista Care Home long-term care facility

Officials added that those who are younger may not face severe illness, everyone still needs to be aware of spreading the virus to those most vulnerable. 

“As a result, the best thing we can do is to protect ourselves and those we care about most by assessing the risks before we spend time with others and always using our layers of protection."

“COVID-19 has meant doing things we have never done before. But let’s not forget this is not forever, only for now. Let’s continue to stay strong and push our curve down to where it belongs.”