B.C. reports 46 new COVID-19 cases, 11 days with no new deaths

Health officials on Tuesday reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. and no new deaths.

There have been 4,111 confirmed cases of the disease in the province. Of those, 3,444 patients have fully recovered, or about 84 per cent.

There are 472 active cases in the province, up 27 from Monday.

Twenty-eight of the new cases reported Tuesday were in the Fraser Health region, 12 were in Vancouver Coastal Health, four in Northern Health, and two in Interior Health.

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Eight COVID-19 patients are in hospital, a decrease of one since Monday, with five of them in intensive care, an increase of two.

B.C.’s death toll from COVID-19 remains at 195 as the province has not recorded a death related to the virus since July 31.

There are no new health-care facility outbreaks, the province said in a statement Tuesday. Seven long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute care facility have active outbreaks.

There no new community outbreaks and an outbreak at The Krazy Cherry Fruit. Co. in Oliver, B.C. has been declared over.

The province says 1,821 people are in self-isolation, up 56 from Monday.

On Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported 131 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. over a 72-hour period.

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She noted the vast majority of people who tested positive for the virus during that time period were already in self-isolation after consulting public health officials.

“That means that as they developed their illness, they were isolated and they no longer exposed others, breaking those chains of transmission,” she said.

“This is incredibly important as this is how we know we can manage with the cases that we’re seeing here in British Columbia.”

While contact tracing remains an invaluable tool, Henry said B.C. residents must do their best to collectively stop exposure events from happening.

Social gatherings and private parties remain a primary concern and Henry said some large parties have been broken up and fines have been levied.

Fraser Health warned Monday of a possible COVID-19 exposure at an event in Surrey, B.C., billed as a “Summerfest and night rave.”

During the B.C. Day long weekend, a person with the coronavirus attended the pop-up gathering, which took place at a venue known as the Royals Jerk Spot. Health experts are warning that anyone else who attended the event could be at risk as well.

The owner of the business took exception to the term “rave” and said her outdoor space was given the all-clear by Surrey bylaw officers and no more than 50 people were in attendance.

Education Minister Rob Fleming said Tuesday that the start of the school year will be pushed back from Sept. 8 for students as teachers, staff, and administrators prepare for the start of the school year.

A formal announcement on the start of the school year is expected to come in about a week’s time.

Fleming said Monday that masks are going to play a “significant role” in schools around the province come September.

— With files from Richard Zussman and Amy Judd