The Northern Health region saw four new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend.
On Monday, provincial health office Dr. Bonnie Henry said the total number of cases in the Northern Health region since the start of the pandemic grew to 322.
Throughout B.C. the number of new cases appears to be leveling off, Henry said.
"We have the safety plans in place... and they are making a difference," she said. "The other thing that has made a difference is people in British Columbia are doing what we've asked them to do. We're having safe connections, so fewer people are being infected. Each case is transmitting to fewer than one person (on average.)"
Since the last public update on Friday, there were 358 new cases throughout the province, bringing the provincial total to 9,739, Henry said. Since Friday, four additional people died of COVID-19 in B.C. – three in the Fraser Health region and one in Vancouver Coastal Health – bringing the province's death toll from the pandemic to 242, she said.
On Monday, public health officials were monitoring 3,010 people in the province who had been potentially exposed, Henry said.
On Friday, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 19 active cases in the Northern Health region, with no patients hospitalized with the disease. On Monday, there were 1,353 active cases in B.C., with 66 people hospitalized – 16 in critical care.
"We have a consistent, lower number in hospital than we did earlier," she said.
The hospitalization rate for people with COVID-19 in B.C. is around eight per cent, Henry said – down from close to 20 per cent earlier in the pandemic. That is partly reflective of the fact that a disproportionate number of cases are being seen in young adults, aged 20 to 39.
Younger people are less likely to become severely ill from COVID-19.
"We have had three people in their 40s in B.C. who have died from COVID-19," Henry said. "(But) we have nobody younger than 40 who has died."
Analysis of the data shows that the province's return to school in September has been largely successful, she said.
"The proportion of cases in school-age children remains low," Henry said. "What we're not seeing is schools amplifying cases in the community."
Children under 10 make up 10 per cent of the province's population, but only five per cent of COVID-19 cases, she said. Teenagers are also under-represented in COVID-19 cases.
Children who do get COVID-19 have a less than one per cent chance of needing hospitalization, and no young children in B.C. have died or needed intensive care, she added.
Only 0.7 per cent of children who are tested for COVID-19 are positive, compared to a 1.6 per cent positive rate in the general population, she added.
"We're seeing children who are being tested because they have symptoms," she said. "There are some other things causing the symptoms – the normal coughs and colds we see this time of year."
Henry urged British Columbians to keep their Thanksgiving gatherings small this weekend, and to avoid travelling unnecessarily.
"These things can be done safely. Let's make our celebrations large in gratitude, but small in size. (And) if you are feeling at all ill, show you care and stay home," she said. "It's important we continue to do this, so our businesses can stay open... our schools can stay open."
