Election guidelines coming today

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s top doctor says public health guidelines on COVID-19 will remain in place as the province heads into an election next month.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says her powers are independent from politics and it’s her priority to make sure the province’s response to the pandemic continues uninterrupted.

Henry says public health officials have been working with Elections BC since March, ahead of some municipal elections, and she will share more details today alongside the chief electoral officer.

She says measures are being taken to ensure people can vote safely, including those in hospital or long-term care homes, as well as in rural areas, adding that she expects more people will submit their ballots by mail.

Henry reported on Monday that 366 new cases of

COVID-19 have been confirmed in B.C. and four more people have died after contracting the illness since Friday.

In the Interior Health region, 16 new cases were confirmed since Friday, with 34 active and isolated. One person is in hospital, IH said.

There are 1,987 active cases in the province, including 60 people who are in hospital, while 3,233 people are being monitored by public health workers after being exposed to known cases.

There is also a new health-care outbreak at Yaletown House, a long-term care home in Vancouver, where Henry says a single health-care worker has fallen ill.

B.C. has recorded 8,208 cases of COVID-19 so far. Quebec has officially declared the second wave of the pandemic has hit that province (page A4).