It has officially been a whole month since northern B.C. tested positive for COVID-19.
Today (July 8), Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, once again, reported no new confirmed cases in Northern Health for a 28th straight day.
The last time the region had a new case was June 9.
However, B.C. has reached a new milestone in surpassing 3,000 positive cases since the virus hit the west coast.
According to Dr. Henry, there were 18 new cases in the last 24 hours, increasing the grand total to 3,008.
This includes 162 active cases, 17 people in hospital being treated for COVID-19 and three in critical care, along with 2,660 recoveries (88 per cent).
She adds three more people have passed away from the virus since yesterday (July 7), all within the Vancouver Coastal Health region, rising the death toll to 186.
In Northern Health, all 65 of the authority's cases have recovered with no one admitted in hospital and no deaths.
Across the province, there are 1,018 COVID-19 cases in Vancouver Coastal, 1,589 in Fraser Health, 133 on Vancouver Island and 203 in the Interior.
“What each of us can do to support contact tracing activities is to complete our own personal risk assessment when deciding where to go and who to see," said Dr. Henry in a joint written statement with Health Minister Adrian Dix this afternoon.
“Fewer faces, bigger spaces is the safest approach, because we know crowded, closed spaces where people may be in close contact with each other are higher-risk environments for all of us and need to be avoided at this time."
The two acknowledged a second case of exposure to the virus within a strip club, the No. 5 Orange bar in Vancouver, making this the second instance of exposure at a similar business, following one at Brandi's Exotic Show Lounge in late June.
Public health teams have issued an alert for anyone who may have been at the No. 5 Orange on July 1.
- with files from Glen Korstrom, Business In Vancouver
