There are now a total of 4,196 COVID-19 cases in B.C. after the latest update from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix this afternoon (Aug. 12).
In their written statement, officials announced another 85 cases have been found throughout B.C. during the past 24 hours, the third-highest single-day count since the pandemic reached the province.
Northern Health recorded four new cases for a second consecutive day, bringing the authority's total to 104 since the virus hit the region in March.
Yesterday (Aug. 11), northern B.C. officially reached the 100-case mark.
Haida Gwaii is in its third week under a community-outbreak alert since it was initially declared on July 24. The four newest cases are not related to Haida Gwaii.
Henry reported one new death from the virus in the past day, for a new total of 196, while a total of 3,469 have recovered.
There are 531 active cases in B.C. with eight hospitalized and five in intensive care.
-1 new death in past day total 196
— Jess Balzer (@jessicajbalzer) August 12, 2020
-a531 ctive cases
-8 hospitalized in B.C.
-5 in ICU#covidBC #covid19 #covid19BC #bc #northernhealth @PGMatters
"The majority of these cases are young people in the Lower Mainland and their exposures have been at events in the community," the statement reads.
"The cases we are seeing today reflect exposures from a week to 10 days ago. A significant number of cases are also linked to travel from out of province.
“We need to refocus on measures to flatten the curve of infection and protect British Columbians as we help our province recover. One of the most effective ways to keep people safe is through contact tracing, which starts with each person who has tested positive for COVID-19 understanding who their contacts may be to provide appropriate follow-up and stop further transmission."
Henry said the rise in numbers is 'concerning' and once again stresses that everyone does their part to bend the curve.
“We are watching the cases climb, which is concerning," she added.
"We need everyone to recommit to using the skills we’ve learned. Keep gatherings small, have a designated ‘contact keeper,’ limit time with others, maintain physical distance and always stay home if you’re feeling unwell.
“We must all keep working together to protect people’s health, homes and livelihoods, and to get our province back on track. We are all in this together, so let’s continue holding the line.”
#BREAKING: Northern Health has confirmed to me that the new four cases today are NOT on Haida Gwaii, which had an outbreak declared on July 24 #cityofpg #covid19 #covid #bccovid19 #covid19bc #bcpoli
— Jess Balzer (@jessicajbalzer) August 12, 2020
Earlier today, Minister of Education Rob Fleming announced that children will be returning to classrooms on Sept. 10.
He told reporters yesterday (Aug. 11) that students wouldn't be expected back on the original date of Sept. 8 to help give administrators and teachers more time to prepare for education amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fleming said the government and its steering committee are working to finalize how school operations will work. He said he expects operating guidelines for schools to be released next week.
“Having the restart week staged in some kind of manner that would have staff teams together for a couple days before we gradually welcome kids back to make sure that every school — all 1,500 of them in the province — are truly ready to welcome students is a good idea, and that’s the approach that we’ll be taking,” Fleming said.
In the past, students going back to class would return to their previous classrooms before moving to new ones, but he said that isn’t safe now.
“That obviously can’t happen under these pandemic conditions.”
"Our district is working on plans for what Orientation week is going to look like for students that first week (Sept 8-11)," said School District 57 (SD57) Board Chair Tim Bennett on social media following the announcement, speaking to parents of students at Prince George, Mackenzie and Robson Valley schools."
"Information will be communicated to families once it is determined."
Premier John Horgan also announced the province will be hiring another 500 healthcare professionals to help increase contract tracing capacity in B.C.
The new positions will start in September, in preparation for a possible surge of COVID-19 cases come the fall.
Contact tracing involves reaching out to all the people who've been in direct contact with a COVID-positive person, to ensure these contacts self-isolate so as not to potentially infect others.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said while many people have just learned about contact tracing, it is “bread and butter work for public health.”
The new hires are expected to come from recently retired nurses and other healthcare professionals, along with recent graduates.
- with files from Jeff Bell, Times Colonist, Castanet and The Canadian Press
