B.C.’s top doctor says it hard to say what the next few days and weeks will look like as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to spike in Canada.

But Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province continues to test people for the novel coronavirus, focusing on clusters and outbreaks, as well as people with adverse symptoms.

As of Friday afternoon, there were 348 COVID-19 cases in B.C., 275 of which were announced since last Monday.

“I expect we will continue to see cases around this level for some time,” she said on Friday. “What we have been working on and what we’ll start to talk a little bit more about and Minister [Adrian] Dix mentioned the modelling, but also what we called the epidemic curve, which looks at how this is progressing, from when people’s symptoms started.”

She says the province is working through the backlog of testing, which is reflected by the numbers of cases being reported.

“We still are on the upswing and that’s why it is so important that we take social distancing measures that I’ve been talking about right now,” Henry said.

Latest numbers from the province indicate that 17,912 tests have been conducted in B.C., and at least 50,000 across the country.

“What we’ve been reporting is the day the testing comes back as positive. But that’s not always a reflection of what’s actually happening out there. Over the coming days, we’ll have more information about that, which will give you a better picture of how this is actually progressing in our province right now.”

Of B.C.’s reported cases, 22 are in hospital, ten in intensive care, with nine fatalities.

Vancouver Coastal Health has 200 cases, Fraser Health has 95, Island Health has 30, Interior Health has 19, and Northern Health has four cases.