Island Health reported seven new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend. There are currently 11 active cases in the region.
Across the province, 366 new cases were reported since Friday, bringing the number of active cases to 1,986. Of these cases, 60 people are in hospital, including 21 in intensive care. British Columbia reported four deaths associated with COVID-19 over the weekend.
No new community outbreaks were reported by Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer.
“We have had a number of exposures in a number of different school settings. They are mostly very low-risk, which is what we would expect. We have had no clusters, no transmission events in schools and no outbreaks at this point,” she said.
Henry said the pandemic response will continue uninterrupted in light of Premier John Horgan calling a provincial election this morning. She said the election is part of the political process, which she is not part of.
“Premier Horgan did not ask for my advice around calling an election and nor would I expect him to. My role is to provide advice on the health of the population and to put in measure that are needed to ensure that activities that need to happen can happen in our community,” she said.
More specific details on election guidelines will be released tomorrow, according to Henry. She said she has been working with Elections BC to make sure guidelines are in place for a safe election.
Henry encouraged British Columbians to see social distancing on a spectrum. She said a rule of thumb is to keep a bigger distance from people you do not see regularly. On one end of the spectrum is your immediate family, she said, and on the other is someone you have never met before.
“For your household bubble, getting close with hugs and kisses is absolutely fine. Those are the people that we need to have that physical contact with. For classmates and colleagues who you see most days in a more structured environment, the distance may not need to be as great as long as you keep those interactions in a managed way,” said Henry.
“The actions each of us takes today will help ensure that we are going to get through the next few months safely,” she said.
