Photo: Government of B.C. flickr
Sophie Gray
Local Journalism Initiative
This weekend saw an additional 23 new test-positive cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced the new cases in a joint statement Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 2,353. There are now 180 cases in the Interior Health region, with two current acute care cases in the area.
Dr. Henry said that we “are in a much better place” than we were even a month ago in B.C.. Provided the numbers stay stable, the province will begin phase two at the beginning of next week.
Dr. Henry urged that the threat of the virus is not over and reopening businesses slowly to restart the economy and start getting towards the new normal is a balancing act.
“We need to strike that right balance between the easing of restrictions to make sure that our forward approach is safe, practical and sustainable in the long term. We do not want to have to go back,” said Dr. Henry.
Businesses, she said, are encouraged to reopen if they can meet guidelines next week, but many will take more time to start up again, as precautions are needed to ensure the safety of operations.
It’s about finding “that sweet spot,” said Dr. Henry, that allows us to go forward in B.C. while managing COVID-19 as it remains in our province.
There are 634 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C. as of today. Long-term care outbreaks continue to be an area of concern, with nineteen still working to tackle active outbreaks while the same number have been declared over. The Bylands Nurseries outbreak in West Kelowna has also been declared over.
