VICTORIA -- Health officials announced 10 more cases of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island on Thursday, as the total number of cases provincewide has surpassed 40,000 since the pandemic began.
British Columbia added 723 new cases of the disease since Wednesday and 28 more people in the province died, including one person on Vancouver Island.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry offered her condolences to the families of all those who have died of the disease.
Island Health president Kathy MacNeil told CTV News the health authority is grieving with family members at "this very sad and difficult time."
"To the Island Health team members who cared for this person and others who may be impacted by this loss, you are in my thoughts and I am grateful to you for demonstrating compassion in your caring," MacNeil said.
B.C.’s death toll now stands at 587, while 40,060 people in the province have contracted COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said 71 new contact tracers have been hired in the Island Health region to help fight the pandemic.
The announcement comes one day after health officials announced five new cases on Vancouver Island.
There are currently 161 active COVID-19 cases across the Vancouver Island region, an increase of 10 since Wednesday. Fifty-four of those cases are in the South Island, 76 are in the Central Island and 31 are in the North Island.
Ten people are in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including four in critical care.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Island Health region has recorded 750 cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths.
Approximately 581 people in Island Health have now recovered from COVID-19.
