B.C. goes into weekend with 10 new Covid cases, one more death

British Columbia is ending the work week with 10 new Covid-19 cases, with no new infections in Interior Health.

A statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer said there are 159 active cases in the province, and there has been one new death in the Vancouver Coastal Health area, with no other details released.

The provincial death toll is now at 174.

“Of the total Covid-19 cases, 17 individuals are hospitalized, five of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation,” said the statement.

There has been 2,878 cases in B.C, and 2,545 of those (88 per cent) have fully recovered.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 969 cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,514 in Fraser Health, 131 in the Island Health region, 199 in Interior Health and 65 in Northern Health.

There have been no new health-care facility or community outbreaks.

Earlier today, the First Nations Health Authority shared the latest data on Covid-19 among First Nations people in B.C., with 86 First Nations individuals having tested positive through June 14.

“The low impact of Covid-19 on Indigenous peoples in B.C. that we have seen so far is a result of ongoing collaboration and an unwavering commitment by community and health leaders to put appropriate measures in place to protect communities,” said Dr. Henry.

“While we are encouraged by this outcome, we recognize that the result has come with hardship. The need to put aside important cultural gatherings to maintain a safe physical distance and to limit visitors has had a great social, mental and economic impact on many. It also reminds us of the resilience that First Nations communities continue to display in the face of hardships,” Henry added.

The acting chief medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority, Dr. Shannon McDonald, told a news conference, First Nations have suppressed the spread of the virus by relying on lessons learned centuries ago as diseases carried by outsiders decimated Indigenous populations.