3 more deaths from COVID-19 recorded in B.C. as cases top 3,000
18 new cases have been confirmed; 162 cases are still active across B.C.
B.C. has now recorded more than 3,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and the number of people killed by the virus has risen to 186.
On Wednesday afternoon, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced in a written statement that 18 new cases have been confirmed and three more people have died. To date, 3,008 people have had confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 162 with active infections.
Seventeen people remain in hospital, including three in intensive care. A total of 2,660 patients have recovered.
Henry and Dix urged British Columbians to keep up with efforts to prevent transmission of the disease.
"Fewer faces, bigger spaces is the safest approach, because we know crowded, closed spaces where people may be in close contact with each other are higher-risk environments for all of us and need to be avoided at this time," they said.
"As we have seen in many other locations around the world, one slip can quickly cause a surge in new cases. We have also seen here in B.C. that our foundational rules for safe social interactions help to protect all of us."
On Tuesday, Vancouver Coastal Health revealed that customers who visited the No5 Orange strip club on Main Street in Vancouver on Canada Day may have been exposed to the virus.
That warning was expanded on Wednesday after a second person who visited the club tested positive for COVID-19. Now patrons who visited on July 1, 3, 4 or 7 are asked to monitor themselves for symptoms.
Henry and Dix said that should serve as a reminder to everyone to be careful about expanding their social circles. They said everyone should conduct a personal risk assessment before taking part in any activities.
"This summer, we can travel within our province, we can enjoy many activities and we can spend time with friends and family. And we can do this safely by all of us doing our part to keep our curve flat," Henry and Dix said.
There are currently two active outbreaks in long-term care homes and one in the acute care unit of a hospital.