B.C. records 269 new COVID-19 cases over three days, as active cases top 900

Health officials on Monday reported 269 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. over the past three days and one new death, as the number of active cases in the province continues to surge.

There were 109 cases from Friday to Saturday — the highest one-day total ever recorded in B.C. Eighty-one cases were reported from Saturday to Sunday, and 79 from Sunday to Monday. Five of the new cases are epi-linked.

There are now a record-high 913 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

2:48 B.C. health officials report highest active total at 913

Officials announced one new COVID-19 death, bringing the provincial toll to 203.

The number of people in hospital with the virus has increased by five to a total of 18. Five of those patients are in intensive care.

There are 5,184 confirmed cases of the disease in B.C. Of those, 4,068 patients have fully recovered, or about 78 per cent.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said 2,595 people are in self-isolation.

He said the province has performed 20,000 tests over the past five days — the most significant stretch since the start of the pandemic.

2:39 Dr. Bonnie Henry explains the new guidelines with children expected back in school in a few weeks

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the number of active cases of COVID-19 may be rising, but undetected transmission in B.C. remains low.

“We are able to find and connect most people who have this disease,” Henry said.

She went on to say the percentage of positive tests remains relatively low, despite the fact that the recent increase in testing has focused largely on people who are at risk of exposure.

Meanwhile, Dix said there will be no changes to orders limiting attendance at events to a maximum of 50 people, despite recent requests from banquet hall operators to revisit the rules.

The province announced last Friday that anyone caught violating B.C.’s public health rules, especially the order on large gatherings, will face fines of up to $2,000.

Henry said enforcement of COVID-19 rules is unfortunate, but clamping down on those breaking public health guidelines is a necessary step.

1:56 Province not budging on COVID-19 rules for banquet halls

On the weekend, police in Victoria arrested a man and issued two fines at the same apartment to hosts of a party who allegedly broke COVID-19 regulations.

And in Surrey, RCMP said they issued tickets to four businesses and event organizers over the weekend for violating provincial health orders

— With files from Amy Judd and Simon Little