Eight new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Northern Health region today (May 26). This follows Tuesday’s four cases which was the lowest single-digit total reported since late October.
The number of active cases in the Northern Health region is now down to 117 which is also down from yesterday’s reported 128 active cases. However, five people are currently hospitalized and three are in critical care.
There were no new deaths reported in the region, and Northern Health’s death toll remains at 152.
Provincially there are 250 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 142,886 cases in B.C. with 3,580 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Of the active cases, 296 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 97 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
There have been three new COVID-19 related deaths for a total of 1,683 deaths in British Columbia.
"Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19," Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry and health minister Adrian Dix said in their joint statement.
Yesterday, Premier John Horgan announced the province’s phased plan to lift public health restrictions.
The province is now allowing Outdoor organized gatherings of up to 50 people, seated indoor gatherings for up to 10 and limited in-person faith-based gatherings under the first phase of its approach.
"BC's Restart plan provides a clear path for our future; one that will allow us to move forward and safely resume activities that have been on hold, without compromising the progress we have made in reducing COVID-19 community transmission,” said Henry and Dix.
"We are now in Step 1 of the plan and are closely monitoring our progress to ensure we stay on track.As immunization is the foundation of our approach, it's crucial to our success that we all get registered and vaccinated.”
As of May 26 the province is reporting that 2,979,951 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to adults 18 and over in B.C., 152,010 of which are second doses.
"Equally important is that our approach be purposeful and measured when spending time with others - keeping our socializing to a small number of people, going outside as much as possible and taking extra precautions if our family and friends are higher risk,” added Henry and Dix.
"Every day, we're getting closer to where we want to be, so let's keep going with our individual and collective efforts. Together, we will restart B.C. and put COVID-19 behind us."
