6 p.m.
Though Dr. Bonnie Henry verbally reported 64 cases in Northern Health, the B.C. government's COVID-19 dashboard reads 65 positive cases in the region.
This data shows just one new confirmed case since Friday's (June 5) update.
PrinceGeorgeMatters is working to clarify for more accurate information.
More to come...
3:05 p.m.
There were 29 new positive cases in the province since Dr. Bonnie Henry's last update on Friday (June 5), bumping the total to 2,659.
For Northern Health, the authority remains at 64 for a ninth consecutive day after no new COVID-19 cases were confirmed over the weekend.
That means there are still no active cases in northern B.C. and all 64 people have recovered.
Dr. Henry, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer, explains there were 14 new cases between Friday and Saturday, six between Saturday and Sunday, and nine between Sunday and today, .
A number of large public protests also appear not to have resulted in a spike in new COVID-19 cases, at least not yet.
But Dr. Henry admitted today (June 8) she is concerned that those who have attended large demonstrations in sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement could be putting themselves and their family at risk, as well as the very marginalized populations they are demonstrating in support of.
"It's a very difficult thing," she said, "because we know people need to speak up against racism and against the impacts that it's having on our communities."
But she said those who attend large gatherings are potentially putting themselves, their families and other at risk, since large gatherings can be vectors for viruses.
"Potentially we can have impacts on those very people that we are trying to stand up to protect," she said. "We know that indigenous communities are more differentially affected by this pandemic. We have seen that many racialized communities are also adversely affected."
She added that she supports the idea of including demographic information, like race, in pandemic data.
The provincial death toll also stays at 167 as no one passed away from the virus since Friday.
Of the current cases, 2,309 people have recovered, that's nearly 87 per cent of the total, but four people are in acute care among 183 active cases.
Outbreaks at one long-term care facility, the New Vista Society, has been declared over, as have two community outbreaks at poultry plants.
Asked when restrictions will be lifted on visitations at long-term care homes, Henry said her office said a new policy will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
"This is something we are doing province-wide," she said. "We do expect that will be in place in the coming weeks."
She the lifting of restrictions on visits at long term care homes must be done in concert with local health authorities and the care homes themselves.
Confirmed cases by other health regions include:
- Vancouver Coastal Health = 907
- Fraser Health = 1,362
- Island Health = 130
- Interior Health = 195
- with files from Nelson Bennett, Business In Vancouver
