“A possibility of having explosive growth in our outbreak here in BC if we’re not careful in how we progress through the summer.”
That was a warning from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry yesterday, as 102 new COVID19-confirmed cases were announced since last Friday.
- Friday-Saturday: 51 cases
- Saturday-Sunday: 19 cases
- Sunday-Monday: 32 cases
The spike in cases is due, at least in part, to people increasing the size of their bubbles and connecting with more and more friends and family, however, the unsafe connections are helping to spread the virus.
The curve that we worked so hard to flatten is starting to bend upward and Dr. Henry said it’s very concerning that the reproduction rate is above one.
“Our reproductive number, so how many people we transmit this virus to if we’re infected and we can see it has risen above one; that is concerning because that is a level, at one, is where we can stop the outbreak. We are at a place where we could see a rapid progression of transmission of this virus if we aren’t careful,” said Dr. Henry.
As the Province started to reopen the economy, some British Columbians have become complacent about safety measures, and Dr. Henry said, “The challenge now is that we are no longer having safe connections and that is what is spreading this virus, so we are having clusters in certain environments where are people are transmitting this.”
“Now we’re seeing parties, small groups, people going together to restaurants, bars, and clubs, but also in houseboats, resorts, and private homes,” said Dr. Henry.
People with COVID19 have taken flights into and out of Victoria, Kelowna, and Vancouver and anyone who has taken a flight needs to check the BC Centre for Disease Control website to see what flights are impacted.
BC is reporting three healthcare outbreaks, two in acute-care, and one in long-term/assisted living facilities (411 residents, 256 staff).
There are no new deaths since Friday and 2,858 people have recovered.
COVID19 Cases by Health Region:
Fraser Health – 1,713
Vancouver Coastal Health – 1,042
Interior Health – 282
Island Health – 142
Northern Health – 69
Reside outside Canada – 54
