Northern Health saw 10 more positive COVID-19 tests since Friday (Aug. 14), but the province itself surpassed another major milestone in the pandemic.
B.C. recorded 236 new cases from the last three days, including 100 from Friday to Saturday, which is now the highest single-day case count the province has seen since March 25, when 91 were recorded.
The grand total now sits at 4,594.
Northern Health has 117 of those cases since the virus landed in the region.
The 72-hour breakdown is as follows:
- 100 = Friday-Saturday
- 88 = Saturday-Sunday
- 48 = Sunday-Monday
“This actually makes things quite challenging,” said Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Reka Gustafson, who delivered the report this afternoon (Aug. 17) alongside Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Dr. Bonnie Henry took today off.
"That's because some people may not even realize they have COVID-19 and they can inadvertently spread it to others."
This morning, Northern Health issued an alert for the northeast section of its jurisdiction after finding 17 positive COVID-19 cases stemming from a northern Alberta prayer and worship gathering between July 30 and Aug. 2.
It's believed a number of Fort St. John residents attended the conference as 10 cases are active and are primarily centred to the city.
"Contact tracing has also identified a number of close contacts, 24 of whom are in self-isolation with active daily monitoring by public health," the authority said in its update.
"Given the location of the event, it is most likely that residents of northeast B.C. may have been in attendance, or had contact with attendees. Northeast B.C. residents are strongly encouraged to self-monitor, and self-isolate and seek testing if they have any COVID-19 symptoms."
Among B.C.'s cases, 743 are active, four people are in hospital and three are in intensive care.
There were two new deaths from the virus from the weekend, both within the Fraser Health region; the toll is now 198.
"The majority of new infections in B.C. at this time are among young adults," Gustafson said.
"This tells us we have done a good job of protecting those who are most vulnerable."
- with files from Nelson Bennett, Business In Vancouver
