B.C. breaks one-day COVID record

A surge of new COVID-19 cases in the Lower Mainland resulted in B.C.’s highestever one-day increase in coronavirus infections.

Between Thursday and Friday, 124 new cases were confirmed.

Only four of the new cases were within the region served by Interior Health, with all but 10 occurring in the Fraser Valley and in Greater Vancouver.

The previous greatest one-day increase in the number of positive tests was 109, between last Friday and Saturday.

There are now 974 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., and almost 2,800 people are under public health monitoring as a result of being directly exposed to a person known to have the disease.

The COVID-19 patient count in the Interior Health region since the start of the pandemic rose from 429 to 433.

Again Friday, in their joint daily statement on the pandemic, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Douglas stressed that the virus will be circulating for the foreseeable future.

“COVID-19 requires new ways of living our lives with new precautions and routines for ourselves and our families, whether at home, work, school, or when spending time with others,” they said.

“This includes keeping our numbers of contacts low, especially at indoor parties and events, whether in a hall or in our own home.

We have seen transmission from even small events, and the last thing we want to do is pass COVID-19 onto those we are closest to,” they said.

Despite the rise in cases, hospitalizations remain at less than half the level seen in early April, with 23 people being treated for the disease in hospitals.

Most of the new infections are among young adults, many of whom exhibit only mild or moderate symptoms and can recover at home.