20 new cases of COVID in B.C. includes teacher

VICTORIA — Provincial health officials announced 20 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including a public school teacher in the Fraser Health region.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, declined to declare an outbreak at the school, however, as the teacher was not exposed to the virus there.

“None of the students are exposed from that case,” she said at Thursday’s COVID-19 update, alongside Health Minister Adrian Dix.

Asked how health officials could be certain about this, Henry was direct: “We know because this is what we do.”

Henry said the teacher’s case was linked to previously known cases through contact tracing.

“This is a contact of a contact of a known case,” she said. “So we can trace back where it came from.”

The teacher’s case was confirmed on the last day of in-class learning for the school year, and was just the second linked to a B.C. school since in-person classes resumed last month. Last week, an independent school in the Fraser Health region was closed after an adult connected to the school tested positive for COVID-19

Henry and Dix also confirmed Thursday the deaths of two more British Columbians from COVID-19, both of whom were residents of long-term care.

The updated numbers bring confirmed cases in B.C. to 2,869 and deaths to 173.

There are 179 active cases. Fifteen people are being treated in hospital, with seven in intensive care.

The 20 new cases are the highest number since June 3, and the first time this month that the province has had four straight days of double-digit cases.

But Henry insisted that B.C. is indeed ready to move to Phase 3 of the restart plan, which got underway on Wednesday.

“We know that as we have more contact, as more stores, as more businesses open, as we travel more, we are going to have more cases,” she said. “And what we need to do is make sure we have those measures in place, that we can stop the transmission quickly and rapidly, and make sure it’s not large numbers.”

No new healthcare outbreaks were announced Thursday, and no new community outbreaks.

Public health teams continue to manage seven active healthcare outbreaks, and two remaining community outbreaks. But none of Thursday’s new cases were related to these outbreaks.