Fifty new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Health region on Friday – setting a grim new single-day record for new cases in the north.
The previous record was 40 cases on Nov. 26, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for disease control.
In a joint statement issued Friday afternoon, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix reported 711 new cases across the province. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 36,132 reported cases of COVID-19 in B.C. – including 978 in the Northern Health region.
"There are 9,050 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 338 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 76 of whom are in intensive care," Henry and Dix said. "Currently, 10,957 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 25,658 people who tested positive have recovered. There have been 11 new COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 492 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic."
None of the 11 British Columbians who died on Friday were from the Northern Health region. The pandemic had claimed the lives of eight people from the Northern Health region.
The number of active cases in the north was not provided, but on Friday the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 270 active cases in the Northern Health region. Thirty-nine COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the north, including 11 in intensive care.
On Friday, Northern Health reported a new COVID-19 school exposure at the Energetic Learning Campus in Fort St. John. The exposure took place Nov. 23-27 and Nov. 30.
"We continue to face a significant surge in community transmission and new cases of COVID-19, which means following the provincial health officer's (PHO) orders and using all our layers of protection is necessary for every person in our province right now," Henry and Dix said. "The virus is not letting up and neither can we. This weekend, let's stay small and stay local, so we can slow the spread of the virus in our province. We can still be festive, we can still have fun, but let's ensure it is only with our immediate household."
A breakdown of cases by health service delivery area released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Thursday showed there were 201 new cases of COVID-19 over the past two weeks in the Northern Interior health service delivery area – which includes Prince George.
The Northern Interior health service delivery area is one of three such areas that make up Northern Health. The Northwest area had 79 cases over the same period, and the Northeast area had 63.
On Friday, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control released the results of the Your Story, Our Future health survey online. Nearly 400,000 British Columbians took part in the survey, the results of which can be found online here: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/covid-19-survey.
"What the survey dashboard shows us is that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all," Henry and Dix said. "It also reminds us that each of us can make a difference, and the efforts we make will help us get through this pandemic."
