There are 67 active cases of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island — including 16 reported today. There are 27 active cases in central Vancouver Island — up 10 from yesterday, 25 in the south and 15 in the north.
There are now 5,579 active cases in B.C. and 12,016 people under public health monitoring as a result of potential exposure to the virus.
Five staff members at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital have tested positive for the virus, but all 59 people deemed a close contact have tested negative, according to Island Health.
There were 617 new cases across B.C., according to a joint statement by Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer and Adrian Dix, minister of health. The number of people hospitalized with the virus went up by 12 to 167 — 50 of which are in ICU (up six from yesterday.)
“There have been two new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 290 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.
Three new health-care facility outbreaks were declared — none of them on Vancouver Island. There have been no new community outbreaks.
“As yesterday’s modelling update clearly showed, this is a critical time for everyone in our province. We need to act now to protect our loved ones, our elders and our communities,” read the statement.
