Coronavirus outbreak after family gathering in BC is "a warning to us all": Dr. Henry

Jun 10 2020, 7:35 pm

BC’s provincial health officer said this week that a recent family gathering in the Fraser Health Region is “a warning sign to us all,” after 15 of the 30 in attendance tested positive for COVID-19.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said the virus “is not that somebody intentionally brings that into their community, to their loved ones, to their family.”

Rather, “this is something that we have been seeing around the world: that is one of the most common ways it gets transmitted is [by] the people that we are closest to and spend time with,” she said.

Noting that the gathering in question included “a mix of indoor and outdoor activities,” Henry reminded people of guidelines around maintaining distance between one another – even while outside.

This, she said, includes guidelines such as not sharing food or having buffets, and paying attention to the “time that we spend in close proximity within that one-to-two-metre radius.”

Henry noted that “even if it is outside, if you’re spending close time in contact talking to somebody, it is still risky, and that, of course, is our concern right now.”

During the press conference, Henry said that while the case numbers in BC continue to be encouraging, people shouldn’t get too comfortable or overly confident yet.

“While in recent weeks the number of new cases in BC has been low, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over – in British Columbia and around the world,” she said. “The global case count continues to rise, and many regions are facing a resurgence in cases.”

In fact, Monday marked “the highest single day for new cases globally,” said Henry.

“[COVID-19] has clearly shown us that we are all connected; the virus recognizes no borders.”

As such, Henry reminded people that “we need to watch closely what is happening globally and in BC, and we need to do all we can to protect our communities and our province.”

Eric ZimmerEric Zimmer

+ News
+ Coronavirus
ADVERTISEMENT