B.C. health officials urge safety this Thanksgiving while announcing 119 new COVID-19 cases

There are 119 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. and no new deaths on Friday as health officials urge British Columbians to stay safe this Thanksgiving weekend.

In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Stephen Brown, B.C.'s deputy health minister, said there are 1,406 active cases of people infected in the province with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

A total of 68 people are in hospital, with 19 in intensive care. Hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are up by five from last Friday, when 63 people were in hospital.

Four of the new cases are epi-linked meaning those people weren't tested for COVID-19, but had close contact with someone who did test positive. The province's death toll is 245.

Public health authorities are actively monitoring 3,180 people across the province, who are in self-isolation due to COVID-19 exposure. 

There are no new community outbreaks, but exposure continues to happen across the province. 

The Fraser Health Authority has declared another COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care home in Delta, B.C. One staff member at the Delta View Care Centre, run by the Good Samaritan Society, has tested positive for the virus, according to a statement released Friday morning.

Health officials are reminding British Columbians to stay safe this Thanksgiving weekend by keeping gatherings to no more than six people and sticking to the basics when it comes to hand washing and mask wearing. 

Health officials say instead of a buffet-style meal, it's safer to serve individual plates of food and sit apart from those not in your household.

Henry has suggested including extended family and friends through video calls.

"The care we show each other today will help protect all of us tomorrow, so let's make this Thanksgiving about safe connections and safe celebrations," Henry and Brown said in a statement Friday.