One more person in B.C. has died of COVID-19 and 25 new cases of the virus were discovered over the past 24 hours, health officials announced Friday.
The most recent death occurred in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, bringing the province’s total number of COVID-19 deaths to 187.
“We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a joint statement Friday.
Meanwhile, Friday’s new cases brought the total number of coronavirus cases in B.C. to 3,053 since the pandemic began.
Health officials say that no new outbreaks have appeared in health-care facilities or in the community over the past 24 hours.
However, two outbreaks at long-term care facilities and one outbreak at an acute-care facility are ongoing.
The two long-term care facilities that are currently managing outbreaks are the Holy Family Hospital long-term care facility in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, and the Maple Hill long-term care facility in the Fraser Health region.
Health officials added that while no active community breaks have been declared, “new cases and community exposure events continue to occur in the community.”
There are currently 187 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of those cases, 16 people are in hospital for treatment, five of whom require critical care.
As B.C. continues to ease restrictions as part of Phase 3 of its restart plan, health officials say that fundamental health practices should continue to be followed.
“When spending more time with friends and family, whether that is close to home or on vacation elsewhere in the province, we remind all British Columbians to avoid closed spaces, crowds and close contact with others,” said Henry and Dix.
Health officials are urging regular hand washing, the use of non-medical masks and physical distancing to help keep the curve of COVID-19 transmission flat.
Each of these health measures improve in effectiveness when used in combination with other safety steps, say Henry and Dix.
“We know that the more layers of protection we use, the safer we will be,” said the pair.
“Let’s all ‘layer up’ by washing our hands regularly, using barriers, staying a safe distance from others and using a mask when that is challenging.”
Most of B.C.’s COVID-19 cases have been located in the province’s Lower Mainland.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 990 cases found in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and 1,610 discovered in the Fraser Health region.
Elsewhere in the province, the Interior Health region has reported 202 cases and the Northern Health region has diagnosed 65.
Meanwhile, the Island Health region has reported 135 cases, an increase of two since Thursday.
As of Friday, a total of 2,679 people have recovered from COVID-19 in B.C.
- With files from CTV -