B.C. today has had its largest number of new cases reported since March 28.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have been 71 cases today, as well as three news deaths which are all in long-term care homes.

She says we continue to see community outbreaks of the virus, with three new outbreaks in long-term care homes reported today.

“And this is course is very, very concerning to me, and to all of us. This tells us that we have more work to do to break the chains of transmissions in our communities. And to make sure that every individual, every business, every community, every family does what we need to do,” Henry says.

“And that’s everyone, all the time. We know people are tired of staying apart from their loved ones, we know we are tired of not being able to do the social connections and events that we are used to doing. But to ease restrictions, we need to have a decline in both the number of new cases and the numbers of outbreaks.”

There have now been 90 deaths and 1,795 reported cases of COVID-19 in B.C.

In the Interior Health region, there have now been no new cases reported in the past 24 hours; there have been 153 cases reported across this region altogether.

Meanwhile, the number of hospitalizations continues to go down in B.C.; there are 103 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of today, compared to 109 yesterday.

There have now been 1,079 recovered cases of COVID-19 out of the 1,795 reported cases, which is 60 per cent.

Henry Comments on Nova Scotia Tragedy

And for the first time since the weekend, Doctor Henry in her daily briefing touched on the tragic mass shooting in Nova Scotia – the worst mass shooting ever in Canada.

“We’re aware, I think many of us, are more aware today about the details of the senseless tragedy in Nova Scotia, a place that’s very near and dear to me. In this time of unparalleled challenge, know that I am heaving a sigh and a wish for thee, and will mourn with you from afar. So all of us need to do our part and we need to continue to support each other in doing that. We need to be calm, and to be kind to each other, and to be safe.”

Henry also spent four years at Dalhousie University in Halifax.