By Sophie Gray
Local Journalism Initiative
There were nine new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. as of Thursday afternoon, according to provincial health authorities.
The increase brings the total number of test positive in the province to 2,559. Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health continue to top the charts with the most numbers of cases, while Interior Health saw one additional case to bring the total number in the region to 195.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported two more COVID-19 deaths and an additional outbreak in a long-term care facility in the Fraser Health region.
She also announced the official end of the Mission correctional centre outbreak. The outbreak was considered one of the worst in the province, contributing more than 100 cases to the total in B.C. Dr. Henry said this is a testament to a job well done by health officials dealing directly with the outbreak.
“I really want to commend the teams from Fraser Health in particular, from B.C.C.D.C. who supported them, (and) from the mobile medical unit (for) the immense effort that people put in to ensuring that people in that correctional facility had access to what they needed to control this outbreak and were cared for and supported through this last and very difficult number of weeks.”
Dr. Henry added that the protocols developed in conjunction with federal correctional services and health authorities to deal with the outbreak at the Mission institution are now used in facilities across the country.
“I think that’s a real testament to the amount of effort and expertise that we have in the province to support this type of outbreak response,” she said.
There are 241 active COVID-19 cases in the province, with 33 people in hospital. There are six people in critical care.
