VICTORIA -- Health officials in British Columbia announced the discovery of 20 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, but no new deaths associated with the virus.

The news brings B.C.'s total count to 3,028 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

For the first time, health officials are starting to specify between cases involving Canadian residents and non-Canadian residents in British Columbia.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday that non-resident cases number 51 in B.C., primarily among visitors and temporary foreign workers.

The death toll from the virus in B.C. remains at 186 people.

The province reported no new outbreaks of the virus at health-care centres Thursday, though outbreaks continue at two long-term care homes and one acute-care home.

When asked about B.C.’s newly announced regulations for care home visits, Henry said that the current measures may be expanded in the future.

“This is a start for the visits,” she said.

Some of the visitation rules include limiting each resident to just one dedicated visitor, who must schedule a limited visitation time.

Henry says that health officials are monitoring how this initial visitation reopening goes before it considers expanding the rules.

"British Columbia exists in a world where COVID-19 is more active than ever," warned B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix.

"Jurisdictions that we all are conscious of, in the United States, have had their worst days in terms of deaths from COVID-19 today, right now."

Most of British Columbia's coronavirus cases have been discovered in the Lower Mainland, including 982 cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and 1,596 in the Fraser Health region, with adjustments made for non-resident cases.

In the Vancouver Island region, 133 cases have been found, while 201 cases have been diagnosed in the Interior and 65 cases in the province's north, since the pandemic began.

There remain 175 active cases of the virus Thursday, with 17 people in hospital, four of them in critical or acute care.

A total of 2,667 people have fully recovered from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.