North, B.C. have record number of new COVID-19 cases

Northern B.C. and the province set records for the highest number of new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.

There were 10 new cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region reported on Thursday – two more than than the previous high of eight new cases on July 22. In her biweekly briefing on Thursday, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there were 139 new cases in B.C. – three more than the previous high of 136 reported on Sept. 4.

"There is a couple of clusters... in several areas of the north," Henry said. "The hospitalizations and a large number of cases are linked to a group of people who went to a large religious gathering."

On Aug. 17, Northern Health issued a warning to northern B.C. residents who attended the It Is Time Canada prayer gathering in Deadwood, Alta. between July 30 and Aug. 2. Most of those cases were in the northeast area of the province.

Henry said public health officials from Northern Health were working to track people who had been exposed, in order to prevent further infections.

"We know the north is stretched, and the resources to follow up with everyone is stretched," Henry said.

The total number of cases in the Northern Health region since the start of the pandemic grew to 203, while the B.C. total increased to 6,830.

As of Thursday there were 1,412 active cases in B.C. and 3,109 people being monitored for potential exposure to COVID-19, Henry said. Across B.C. there were 42 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, including 14 in intensive care.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said seven of the patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were in the Northern Health region. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported three northerners were in intensive care with the disease on Thursday, out of a total of 32 active cases in the north.

Henry said while still below the peaks seen in April, the number of COVID patients hospitalized has been on the rise in B.C.

"Yes, it is worrisome. It's one of the indicators we are watching," she said. "We're also seeing some people (hospitalized) in the north, that's concerning."

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported Thursday, leaving the province's death toll from the pandemic at 213. No deaths linked to the disease have been reported in the north.

Data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Thursday showed a breakdown of the COVID-19 cases by health service delivery area. There were 66 COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks in the three health service delivery areas that make up Northern Health – 49 in the Northeast, nine in the Northern Interior (which includes Prince George) and eight in the Northwest.

Henry said the province continues to see an increase in cases among young adults. While young adults are less likely to get seriously ill or die from COVID-19, health officials are monitoring a number of cases of people who have suffered longer-term health impacts from the disease, she said. Some of those issues include cardiovascular problems and chronic fatigue.

"We don't know if this is something that will get better over time, or if this is something that will have long-term impacts," Henry said. "We've heard from people who were sick in March and still are not able to get back to their normal activities."

PUBLIC HEALTH READY TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS

Sept. 10 was the official first day of school for students attending the public school system. Henry said public health officials are ready to work with every school district if and when cases of COVID-19 arise.

"We know we'll have cases that pop up. We've seen in that in other jurisdictions," she said. "We've had measles and meningitis (outbreaks in the past), we'll deal with COVID too. We will be announcing any school outbreaks, so everybody knows what is going on."

A school outbreak would be declared if there were cases of COVID-19 being transmitted in the school, she said. In cases where there hasn't been transmission in the school, students and staff may be ordered to self-monitor for symptoms or self-isolate, she said.

In some extreme cases, a school may have to close if there has been a number of cases among the staff and there are not sufficient staff to run the school, Henry said.

"(But) I don't see a situation where the entire system closes down. That would mean we're in dire straights."