Friday September 4, 2020 | VANCOUVER, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Editor | Island Social Trends
There are now 6,162 test-positive cases of COVID-19 in BC (85 epi-linked), of which 1,233 are active including 31 people in hospital (12 people in ICU or acute care).
Today’s new case count within the new total provincial total is 121.
There was one more death since yesterday, bringing the BC total to 211 during the COVID-19 pandemic to date.
By gender there is a fairly even split between male and female who’ve contracted COVID-19: 3,033 female and 3,046 male.
Age profile:
For the last couple of weeks the highest case count increases have been seen in the working-adult age groups, particularly 20-29 and 30-39 years of age.
Today’s increase in those two age categories was 32 and 27 respectively; that shows 59 cases (of today’s 121-case increase) that being 48.8% of the one-day increase. Cases in the 20-29 & 30-39 groupings combined (i.e. 1,364 and 1,218) are 41.9% of total BC cases (up from 41.7% yesterday).
Most of the young adult tally is from exposure to COVID-19 during socializing, said Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry earlier this week. Workplace exposures are safer than private family gatherings and being at bars or restaurants.
Children and youth:
In BC since the pandemic began, a total of 471 children and youth (ages 0 to 19 years) have been test-positive for COVID-19 (or 7.64% of total cases in BC, on par with 7.7% from yesterday). Within that 471 tally there were 160 cases in children under the age of 10, and 311 cases in youth ages 10 to 19.
It is generally believed that children have an easier time of the COVID-19 disease, but BC is now tracking a post-COVID inflammation response in children (called MISC) which indicates a more serious impact of the viral infection with longer term effects.
If you’re exposed, you’re under watch:
As a result of identified exposure to known cases, 2,792 people are under active public health monitoring said Dr Henry today (down slightly from 2,801 yesterday). That means public health is ‘in their face’, making sure they stay isolated and checking up daily on symptoms.
Recovery profile: 4,706 people in BC who tested positive have recovered.
Outbreaks and alerts:
There has been one new assisted-living facility outbreak at KinVillage in the Fraser Health region. In total, 10 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.
“There have been no new community outbreaks, although there continue to be community exposure events,” said Dr Henry in her joint statement today with Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Alerts are posted on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website, as well as on health authorities’ websites, providing details on where the potential exposure occurred and what actions to take – whether you need to self-isolate or monitor for symptoms.
Vancouver Island COVID-19 profile:
There were two new cases on Vancouver Island today September 4, as shown in the BC Centre for Disease Control stats. That brings the Vancouver Island total to 180.
Of those, 168 have recovered, and five have died.
Presently seven people are counted as ‘active cases’ but no one is in hospital within Island Health today.
Here is the ‘daily cases’ graph for Vancouver Island. It shows we had the curve pretty well beat in May and June, but during the summer it started heading upward:
Heading into the Labour Day long weekend:
“COVID-19 continues to affect our province and this long weekend is no different,” said Dr Henry in today’s BC Health statement. “Whether you’re celebrating the Canucks game tonight or meeting friends for a barbecue or camping, let’s make it a safe, small-group long weekend.”
She continues with recommendations: “Get outside this weekend and enjoy your time with friends and family and outdoor activities, while protecting the more vulnerable around you. We must maintain a very careful balance between fun and caution this long weekend and onwards to the fall.”
In contrast to hearing that ‘there is no playbook’ for handling the COVID-19 pandemic, today BC Health states that there is in fact a playbook for “good times on weekends” as a way “to keep things fun and safe”.
The reminder is to not let our end goal out of sight, but to keep COVID-19 low and slow. “Your actions this weekend and every day make a difference.”
“We have the tools and we can make the right choices. To be successful in this next phase, we need to step back to safely move forward. So let’s all make choices that will keep our communities, our Elders, our loved-ones and ourselves safe.”
===== LINKS (provided by government):
For the latest modelling information presented on Sept. 3, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/COVID19_Going_Forward_Sept_2020.pdf
To see a map of COVID-19 cases by local health area, visit:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
If you are experiencing symptoms, find a collection centre near you to get tested:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/testing
Find out more about the new enforcement of public health officer orders on events:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020PSSG0046-001568
If you have plans this weekend, follow Dr. Bonnie Henry’s Good Times Guide: https://goodtimes.gov.bc.ca/
For mental health and anxiety support, visit: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or: www.anxietycanada.com
For a listing of the community exposure events, go to:
BCCDC (flights, work sites, etc.): http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures
Fraser Health: fraserhealth.ca/covid19exposure
Interior Health: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/
Island Health: https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/outbreaks-and-exposures
Northern Health: https://www.northernhealth.ca/health-topics/outbreaks-and-exposures
Vancouver Coastal: http://www.vch.ca/covid-19/public-exposures
For the second monthly progress report on B.C.’s surgical renewal plan, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020_surgical-renewal-commitment-progress-report-June-July-2020.pdf (http://https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020_surgical-renewal-commitment-progress-report-June-July-2020.pdf)
For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.
For non-health related information, including financial, child care and education supports, travel, transportation and essential service information, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19
Or call 1 888 COVID19 (1 888 268-4319) between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Pacific time), seven days a week.
For the latest videos and livestreaming of COVID-19 media availabilities, visit:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCProvincialGovernment/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCGovNews
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ProvinceofBC
