No new cases of COVID-19 were reported in northern B.C. on Thursday.
The last new case reported in the Northern Health region was reported on June 8.
Throughout the province, there were 19 new test-positive cases and one new epidemiologically-linked case – bringing the provincial total to 2,869 since the beginning of the outbreak, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said during her daily update on the pandemic. The Northern Health region remained at 65.
"One person (infected) is a teacher at a public school in the Fraser Health region," Henry said. "None of the students were exposed in that case."
The teacher was exposed through a social connection outside of school and there were no "exposure events" at the school they worked at, Henry said. The exposure was linked to a known outbreak.
Thursday marked the last day of class for the 2019-2020 school year, Henry said. The lessons learned from the partial return to classes this month will be used to determine what school looks like when students return in the fall, Henry said.
Henry offered praise to students and teachers for getting though "probably one of the hardest years any of us will ever remember."
"It hasn't always been easy for everybody, especially students," she said.
Across the province, there were 179 active cases remaining as of Thursday – none of which were in the north. Of the remaining cases, 15 patients were hospitalized and seven were in intensive care.
There were also two additional deaths in B.C. on Thursday, bringing the province's death toll from the pandemic to 173.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said as the province moves into Phase 3 of the B.C Restart Plan, residents need to continue following physical distancing, hand washing and other public health measures.
"As we go out into the world, we have to be more conscious of maintaining our distance," Dix said.
The record number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. on Thursday should be a reminder of the potential risk of a resurgence of cases, he said.
"These are the places outside of Canada we visit most frequently," Dix said. "It tells us why we need to be vigilant."
