VICTORIA -- B.C. health officials announced 10 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, and one more death related to the virus.
The written update brings B.C.’s total number of cases to 2,878 since the pandemic began. Health officials say that the overall total has been corrected following a data error that appeared in Thursday’s daily update.
A total of 174 people have now died in B.C. due to COVID-19.
“We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a joint statement.
There remain 159 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of those cases, 17 people were in hospital for treatment, five of whom required critical care.
No new outbreaks have occurred in the community or in health-care facilities over the past 24 hours, and an outbreak at Nicola Lodge in the Fraser Health Authority has now been declared over.
However, five outbreaks continue at long-term care facilities and at one acute-care facility in B.C.
Meanwhile, health officials continue to monitor and support two community outbreaks.
The majority of COVID-19 cases are located in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, with 1,514 cases confirmed in the Fraser Health region and 969 found in the Vancouver Coastal Health region since the pandemic began.
Meanwhile, the Island Health region has seen a total of 131 cases, the Interior Health region has reported 199 cases and the Northern Health region has confirmed 65.
On Friday morning, Henry and chief medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority Dr. Shannon McDonald provided an update on how COVID-19 has affected First Nations communities in B.C.
Health officials say that Indigenous British Columbians have had success in curbing the spread of the virus throughout the pandemic, with just 87 First Nations people testing positive for COVID-19 to date.
"The low impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous peoples in B.C. that we have seen so far is a result of ongoing collaboration and an unwavering commitment by community and health leaders to put appropriate measures in place to protect communities,” said Dix and Henry in their joint statement.
“While we are encouraged by this outcome, we recognize that the result has come with hardship. The need to put aside important cultural gatherings to maintain a safe physical distance and to limit visitors has had a great social, mental and economic impact on many,” the pair said.
Health officials are urging all British Columbians to continue practicing personal health practices, like physical distancing, regular hand washing and staying home if feeling at all unwell.
Continued use of these fundamental measures is especially important as B.C. transitions into Phase 3 of its Restart Plan, which eases restrictions on travelling within the province, say health officials.
