The Thanksgiving weekend numbers are in and it's another COVID-19 spike for northern B.C.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says since Friday (Oct. 9), 10 more tests came back positive for a new regional total of 341 since March.
These were among the 549 cases reported in B.C. over the last four days; the province's grand total is now 10,734.
- 170 = Friday to Saturday
- 13 off B.C.'s daily case-count record of 183 (Sept. 16)
- 159 = Saturday to Sunday
- 119 = Sunday to Monday
- 101 = Monday to Tuesday
Five more people succumbed to the virus over the long weekend, bringing B.C.'s death toll to 250, three of which resided in the north.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 1,476 are active with 77 in hospital, including 24 people in intensive care.
There are 3,618 people being actively monitored for COVID-19 symptoms and 8,974 that have fully recovered (84 per cent).
Dr. Henry brought school and community sports to the attention of the public today as hockey and soccer begin to pick up for fall for young people as well as parents who may try to act as spectators.
She says players and their safety is being prioritized much as the example of the NHL playoffs in the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles.
“We have to remember that spending time socializing or cheering with other parents and fans before, during and after games, increases the risk of transmission and exposure for you and your family," said Dr. Henry.
“As much as we want to see the winning goal or celebrate the perfect pass after the game, we need to ensure we are keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe by always following our COVID-19 safety basics."
In Northern Health, one of its new cases was confirmed to be detected at Site C earlier today (Oct. 13).
One other person at the Fort St. John project was asked to self-isolate this past weekend and BC Hydro says the risk of transmission remains low.
Meanwhile, northern B.C.'s first public COVID-19 exposure since the pandemic began was potentially contracted by a passenger(s) that used Prince George Taxi between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Oct. 2 to 3.
Last month, Prince George's local health area recorded 20 COVID-19 cases for a total of 56 since March.
Six regional schools have been potentially exposed to COVID-19:
- Prince George Secondary School (SD57) - Oct. 2, 2020
- Dawson Creek Secondary School - South Peace Campus (SD59) - Sept. 23-25, 2020
- David Hoy Elementary School (SD91) - Sept. 17-18, 2020
- Quesnel Junior Secondary School (SD28) - Sept. 10-11, 15-18, 2020
- Nak’albun Elementary School (Independent) - Sept. 16-18, 2020
- Ecole Frank Ross Elementary School (SD59) - Sept. 10-11, 2020
As of this publication, only 8.5 per cent of the Northern Health authority’s population, as per its 2019-20 report, has undergone a test for COVID-19.
- with a file from Elana Shepert, Vancouver Is Awesome
The BC Centre for Disease Control's Local Health area map between January 2020 and September 2020. (via BCCDC)
