“This is not forever, but it is for now and we know we can do this.”
That was from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, as she was referring to the safety precautions that are key to flattening our curve again.
Since Friday 81 cases and two deaths have been announced in the province, along with an outbreak at Fraser Valley Packing in Abbotsford and an additional case on remote Haida Gwaii.
Those outbreaks are effecting 15 and 14 people respectively.
As British Columbians have been granted more freedom as we move through the provincial restart, complacency has increased and Dr. Henry said she has made changes to safety measures pertaining to large gatherings.
“Today I’ve amended the order on mass gatherings to limit the number of people in short-term rentals and vacation accommodations,” said Henry. “That includes places like houses that being rented out, boat rentals, cabins, yurts, that means you cannot have a large group of people over to party in your hotel room or on your boat during this period of our COVID summer.”
Henry added, “The number of people is limited to the capacity of the space, plus up to a maximum of five visitors. For example, if the capacity of the accommodation is four people, the maximum number of visitors allowed is five, for a total of no more than nine people. It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure the order is adhered to by all guests and to ensure contact tracing information is collected for everyone – guests and visitors alike.
This amendment to mass gatherings doesn’t apply to workplaces, schools, secondary, and post-secondary educational facilities.
The gorgeous weather is here and with the BC Day long weekend just days away, Dr. Bonnie Henry urges British Columbians to spend time outdoors, which is a much safer option than closed spaces.
“Spending time outside is far safer than being indoors, so take advantage of that here in British Columbia in the coming weeks,” said Henry. Avoiding closed spaces, avoiding crowds, avoiding that close contact with people in any environment, inside or outside, are the things that are important for us to remember now.”
There are 264 active cases in the province, eleven people are hospitalized, and three are in intensive care.
There are 664 cases are associated with healthcare outbreaks, affecting 404 residents and 260 staff members.
There are three healthcare facility outbreaks; two in acute-care and one in long-term care or assisted-living facilities.
Since the last briefing on July 24, one new case has been reported on Vancouver Island.
More than 1010 people are required to self-isolate in BC.
COVID19 Cases by Health Region:
Fraser Health – 1,800 cases
Vancouver Coastal Health – 1064 cases
Interior Health – 353
Island Health – 143 cases
Northern Health – 80
Outside of Canada – 60
