Interior cases remain low, but growing in B.C.

No new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Interior Health region between Monday and Tuesday.

But, provincewide, 58 people tested positive for the disease, bringing the total number infected since the start of the pandemic to 5,848.

Hospitalizations continue to rise, up to 31 on Tuesday from 28 on Monday. Still, the total is well below the record high of 49 in early April. Of those currently in hospital, 10 are in intensive care.

One additional death due to COVID-19 was announced Tuesday, making the total 209 fatalities.

Meanwhile, an online research and collaboration symposium involving B.C. heath care experts began on Tuesday.

“The symposium is focused on furthering our understanding of the impacts of COVID19 and the related public health measures,” Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry wrote in a joint statement. “To be successful, our COVID19 plan is all about all of us doing our part — our world-leading researchers, our businesses, and all of us as individuals.”

GATHERINGS LEAD TO COVID WARNINGS

VICTORIA — An outbreak of COVID-19 in British Columbia’s Nass Valley has prompted an alert from the Northern and First Nations health authorities.

The warning goes out to anyone who attended gatherings between Aug. 21 and 25 in the valley. A statement from the Nisga’a government says all those who attended a memorial, a funeral or settlement feast need to contact their community clinic.

The government also announced it is extending the provincial state of emergency until the end of the day on Sept. 15.

Dix says the province is almost back to its regular timelines for surgery after completing about 66 per cent of the more than 17,000 procedures that were postponed at the start of the pandemic.

The government says in a news release that it’s working with staff, unions and others to determine the best way to extend daily hours and open operating rooms on the weekends.

The government has hired more anesthesiologists, nurses and medical technicians to help accelerate the process.