BC Health Officials say another 41 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the province today, though none of the new cases were in the Interior Health Authority.
In fact, a statement from the Ministry of Health says there have been 356 cases in the Interior since the pandemic began, a decrease of two from yesterday, due to data correction as two people who tested positive lived in other juridictions. Across the province, there have now been 3,562 cases of the virus.
It is the third time that the province reported over 40 new cases in a single day, after 55 cases on April 28, and 51 cases between July 17 and 18, when the province reported 102 new cases over the weekend.
There were also no new deaths to report leaving the provincial death toll at 194 people, two of which have been in the Interior.
Active cases went up slightly to 259, while the number of people in hospital went down to just six people, two of whom are in intensive care.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says a significant number of the new cases is linked to two existing outbreaks, on Haida Gwaii where are have been 20 cases, and 31 cases connected to Fraser Valley Packers in Abbotsford.
“Of note, there are no health concerns related to the consumption of fruit from Fraser Valley Packers Inc. However, people are reminded to always wash fruit and vegetables before eating them,” said a statement from the Health Ministry.
“We also need to remember to wash our hands regularly, clean surfaces more often, follow one-way pathways and always, without exception, stay home if you are at all feeling ill.”
Health officials are also reminding people about possible exposure at Liquid Zoo, a Kelowna strip club between July 15 and 18. Earlier this week, Interior Health noted the number of cases related to the ‘Kelowna cluster’ reached 90, of which 78 are residents of the Interior Health region.
There were no new healthcare facility outbreaks, and the outbreak at the neonatal intensive care until at St. Paul’s Hospital has now been declared over.
And the number of people who have recovered has increased to 3,109 or 87 per cent of the total case load.
“To play safe and stay safe this weekend, and protect all of our communities from COVID-19, we all need to use the layers of protection we have available and keep your groups small,” noted the statement.