BC health officials to provide live COVID-19 update on Monday afternoon

Health officials in British Columbia are scheduled to give a live COVID-19 update on Monday afternoon.

The announcement will include several reporting periods. It follows a total of 617 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 56,632.

There are currently 6,118 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Additionally, there are 358 individuals currently hospitalized with the virus, 75 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

A reported 8,755 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and there have been 18 new COVID-19-related deaths. To date, there have been 988 deaths in BC.

A total of 48,205 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have now recovered, and 46,259 have received a COVID-19 vaccine in BC thus far.

Monday’s update is scheduled to begin at 3 pm and can be streamed online.

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Last week, health officials made a number of announcements, including extending the COVID-19 ban on events and gatherings until February 5, 2021.

The orders, which include a ban on indoor and outdoor private gatherings, community events, travel, and variants of adult sports, first came into effect on November 19, 2020.

“In the last days we have seen a slight increase in our cases and our curve is trending upward,” she said. “Right now we have to hold the line.”

Henry added that the orders allow essential workplaces, schools, and the healthcare system to “continue to stay open.”

Changes were also made to how BC reports its daily COVID-19 case data in an effort to streamline the process through automation.

The province will now count each case based on the date the patient tested positive, not the date it was reported to the local health authority. BC will also begin tracking new COVID-19 cases from midnight to midnight, making each calendar day a new reporting period. Previously, the province tracked new cases from 10 am to 10 am.

With files from Megan Devlin