Vancouver Island reported five new cases of COVID-19 today — across the the province there were 299 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to a joint statement from Dr. Réka Gustafson, B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, minister of health.
There are six active cases each in Vancouver Island north, south and central, for a total of 18, according to Island Health.
There are now 3,017 active cases in B.C., 72 more than yesterday. Of these cases, 92 people are hospitalized, 22 of whom are in intensive care. Since the start of the pandemic, 12,430 people have recovered from the virus.
“Our goal for the COVID-19 pandemic is to continue to minimize severe illness, death and social disruption in our communities. The more we learn about the virus, the better we are able to manage all three of these important objectives,” said the statement.
Many of the new cases reported today were transmissions resulting from social gatherings. People in the Fraser Health region are being asked by public health teams to avoid all social interactions in private homes, the statement said.
“Keeping our communities well means keeping them safe. It is about ensuring we have capacity within our health-care system, protecting those who are most vulnerable and continuing what’s important to our well-being in safe, responsible ways.”
