COVID-19 claims 13 more lives, as B.C. confirms 887 new cases
294 people in hospital, with 64 in intensive care
B.C. health officials announced 887 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 more deaths on Thursday.
In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said there are 7,899 active cases of people infected with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in B.C.
A total of 294 people are currently in hospital, compared to 217 last Thursday. Sixty-four people are in intensive care due to COVID, the highest number of critical care patients since April.
The provincial death toll now stands at 384.
Public health is actively monitoring 10,307 people across the province who are in self-isolation due to COVID-19 exposure.
The Fraser Health region had 612 new cases or 69 per cent of the new cases provincewide. Vancouver Coastal Health accounted for 168 new cases or 19 per cent of the provincial total.
Watch | Dr. Réka Gustafon answers your questions on everything from masks to where infections are occurring:
On Wednesday, the provincial government corrected eight days of COVID numbers dating back to Nov. 17. The data error meant there were more than 270 additional cases overall in Fraser Health over that time that had not been reported.
In their statement, Henry and Dix reported two new health-care outbreaks Thursday, at the Royal Ascot Care Centre in Vancouver and at Amica in White Rock.
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Outbreaks at Hamlets at Westsyde in Kamloops, Peace Portal Seniors Village in Surrey and Village by the Station in Penticton are over.
There were no new community outbreaks reported Thursday.
However, the province confirmed late Thursday that several staff members at the Surrey courthouse had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union later confirmed that eight sheriffs who work at the courthouse had tested positive, while 25 other staff were self-isolating.
Courthouse operations have not been affected, the province said. Fraser Health says it has not declared an outbreak at the courthouse.
One week ago, new restrictions and rules were put in place in B.C., including wide-ranging mask orders for indoor public and retail environments.
In recent days, health officials have urged people to pause social interactions and be vigilant applying different layers of protection, such as social distancing, washing hands, and using masks.
There has been some pushback against the new rule including a belligerent diner in a Victoria, B.C., restaurant and a shopper at a Dawson Creek, B.C. Walmart.
During Wednesday's COVID-19 briefing, Dix described wearing a mask in indoor public spaces, in compliance with B.C. law, as "a sign of respect for one another."