Two new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in northern B.C. since Friday.
One case was reported on Saturday and another on Monday, bringing the Northern Health region's total to 57 since the outbreak began. Across the province there were 15 new cases on Saturday, nine on Sunday and 14 on Monday bringing the province's total to 2,352 since the start of the pandemic, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
"In terms of our case load, there are 634 cases remaining," Henry said. "We are now in a much better place than we were a couple months ago."
As of Monday, there were 66 people in B.C. – including three in northern B.C. – hospitalized from COVID-19, Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said on Monday. Of those hospitalized, 18 were in critical care.
The number of patients in critical care in Northern Health was not made available. On Friday, the B.C. Centre for Disease control reported one patient in the Northern Health region was in critical care.
One additional person in the Fraser Health region died from COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the province's death toll from the pandemic to 130. No deaths have been linked to the pandemic in northern B.C.
As of Monday, 1,719 people in the province had fully recovered from COVID-19 – up by 140 people compared to Friday. The B.C. CDC reported 49 people in the Northern Health region had fully recovered from COVID-19 as of Friday.
Next week, unless the situation changes, the province will begin Phase 2 of its pandemic response plan, Henry said.
"(But) there are still community cases, not linked (to a known outbreak)," she said. "This means COVID-19 has not gone away, it is still a danger to us. We do not want to have to go back."
British Columbians still need to practice safety measures like maintaining social distance and regular hand washing, even as some businesses and services start to reopen after the Victoria Day long weekend.
"The coming long weekend is the kick off to summer for many people. We are still, right now, in Phase 1 and we all need to act accordingly," Dix said. "Stay local, stay apart, stay safe. The best place in to be in British Columbia is where you live."
