Health officials are reporting 145 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. over a span of 48 hours. Of that, 67 cases were from March 23rd and another 78 in last 24 hours.

That brings the provincial total of cases reported to 617, which is a 30.7 per cent increase since Monday morning.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are 41 cases confirmed in Interior Health, meaning there have been 11 new cases since yesterday.

“This is a reflection of the fact that we are seeing escalating numbers across British Columbia. We know that there is circulation and there is risk across the province right now. The majority of our cases are in the Lower Mainland, but no community in this province is immune,” Henry says.

“And we know this virus can spread with people having very minimal symptoms. And that is our rationale, for making sure that we all take these physical distancing measures that we’ve all been talking about in the last little while. The way we break the chains of transmission is making sure that we’re not close enough so the virus can spread between people.”

Henry says there have been no new deaths since yesterday. There have been 13 across the province.