British Columbia Health Officials announced 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, totalling 2,573 cases.
For the third day this week, there have been no deaths recorded. 164 people have succumbed to the virus since the pandemic’s onset in the province.
The number of active cases remains stagnant at 228 province-wide. However, the recovery rate has now risen to roughly 85%.
Of the active cases, 35 are in hospital, while 5 are in ICU.
Schools are preparing to welcome students back to classes this Monday (June 1st), a measure that has gotten some mixed feedback.
“Our K-12 schools will reopen to in-class learning for the remainder of the school year. This is very exciting, but I know some people are looking at this with trepidation,” said Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry. “We are ready for this, and we are reopening schools because we believe it is safe to do so.”
Henry added that B.C. Health officials have learned “a lot” about COVID-19 as the virus progressed.
Doctor Henry also stressed that COVID-19 has a low infectious rate in children, noting that 77 of B.C.’s cases have been in patients under the age of 19, working out to roughly to 1% of the total case count.
Two more healthcare outbreaks have also been declared over, including one of B.C.’s “first and most difficult long-term care facility outbreaks,” at Haro Park in the lower mainland, said Henry. “This is good news, I’m relieved.”
Doctor Henry also mentioned that transmission remains low despite the province lifting multiple restrictions.
“This is the second week of our restart, and that is very good news,” she said. “But these new cases continue to be our elders in care, and there continues to be low, but some spread in our community. This tells us that that we still need to be cautious; we need to proceed with care.”
Dr. Henry also introduced a new health order officially banning overnight camps in B.C. this summer. The order does not apply to day camps.
Breakdown by health authority:
- Fraser Health: 1,285 (+8)
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 902 (+2)
- Interior Heath: 195 (0)
- Island Health: 127 (0)
- Northern Health: 64 (+1)