B.C. announces 9 new COVID-19 cases, 1 more death, during what could be a telling week
Dr. Bonnie Henry says this week will help gauge success of B.C.'s gradual relaxation of health orders
B.C. health officials said nine new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the province and one more person has died of the disease.
Wednesday's numbers were released in a written statement from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix. They did not hold a live briefing Wednesday.
In all, B.C. has detected 2,550 cases of COVID-19 and 162 deaths have been connected to the disease.
As of Wednesday, B.C. had a total of 244 active cases of COVID-19; 2,144 people who had previously tested positive have recovered.
No new outbreaks have been detected, according to health officials. Currently, B.C. has 15 active outbreaks: 14 in long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one in an acute-care unit.
Thirty-seven people are currently in hospital with COVID-19, seven of them in intensive care.
The person who was reported dead Wednesday lived in the Fraser Health region.
"We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic," Henry and Dix said in their joint statement.
The statement reiterated a point that Henry made on Monday: this week will be an important one to see how B.C.'s gradual relaxation of health orders is progressing.
COVID-19 has a two-week incubation period, the statement noted, so this week's new cases will be the result of the looser restrictions.
"With this in mind, let's continue to take advantage of parks and other activities closer to home and look to increase social interactions only after fully considering the risks to you and your family," Wednesday's statement read.
"Once we have a good understanding of how we are doing in mid-June, we'll have the data we need to determine our timing for further actions."