Third-highest one-day total raises concerns
Government to hire 500 new health-care professionals to help with COVID-19 contact tracing
Health officials announced 85 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the third-highest one-day total since the coronavirus arrived in B.C.
The eye-popping surge follows Premier John Horgan’s announcement earlier Wednesday that the province plans to hire 500 new healthcare professionals to help with contact tracing going into the fall — or, as Dr. Bonnie Henry called it Wednesday, “the respiratory season” because it is when the flu season starts.
According to the provincial health officer, the majority of the new cases are young people in the Lower Mainland whose exposures have been linked to community events and out-of-province travel over the B.C. Day long weekend — just as health officials feared.
Just as she did ahead of the holiday, Henry urged residents Wednesday to refocus.
“We are watching the cases climb, which is concerning,” Henry said.
“We need everyone to recommit to using the skills we’ve learned. Keep gatherings small, have a designated ‘contact keeper,’ limit time with others, maintain physical distance and always stay home if you’re feeling unwell.”
Horgan said the province will hire 500 contact tracers on a temporary basis, to help public health teams with a big job that just got a lot bigger.
“During a pandemic, more resources are required,” he said, adding that the new positions are likely to be filled by retired and recently graduated nurses.
“Positions will start in September and will help us deal with community transmission now and into the fall,” he said.
Contact tracing is “breadand butter work for public health,” Henry explained.
“It’s how we ensure that when somebody is infected with a communicable disease, that we do everything we can to prevent that transmission and prevent others from getting sick.”
For COVID-19, contact tracing is “exceedingly important,” and calls for more bodies doing the work, especially with cases surging and backto-school just around the corner.
“Many of the people who are doing this on a day-to-day basis across public health do other very important public health work as well,” she said.
Wednesday’s updated numbers from Dix and Henry include one new death — the province’s first in 12 days.
So far 196 people have died from the coronavirus in B.C.
Total confirmed cases in
B.C. rose Wednesday to 4,196, with 3,469 people having recovered.
There are 531 active cases in the province, with most infected self-isolating at home.
Eight people are being treated in hospital, with five in intensive care.