BC officials to give update on COVID-19 cases, health and safety guidelines in schools

An update on British Columbia’s health and safety guidelines in schools is scheduled to take place on Thursday morning at 10 am.

The Ministry of Education says that the update will include “enhanced health and safety guidelines for K-12 students and staff,” as well as additional funding to “support the continued safe operations of schools” throughout BC.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, Minister of Education Jennifer Whiteside, and BC School Trustees Association Stephanie Higginson will be present to give the announcement.

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Health officials in BC are also scheduled to give a written COVID-19 update on Thursday afternoon.

A total of 414 new test-positive COVID-19 cases were announced on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 68,780.

There are 4,426 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 7,049 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases.

Currently, 278 individuals are hospitalized with the virus, 80 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining test-positive individuals are recovering at home in self-isolation.

There were also 16 new virus-related deaths, for a total of 1,234 deaths in BC.

A total of 61,643 people who tested positive have now recovered, and to date, 142,146 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in BC – 6,417 of which are second doses.