COVID-19

B.C.’s 549 long weekend COVID-19 cases partly due to testing backlog: provincial health officer

Oct 13, 2020 | 3:50 PM

VICTORIA — Provincial health officials are reporting 549 new cases of COVID-19 over the past four days, but B.C.’s top doctor says there is a valid reason for the increase that shouldn’t cause worry.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province reported 170 new cases on Saturday (Oct. 10), 159 on Sunday, 119 on Monday and 101 on Tuesday. Overall, there were 23 new cases found within Interior Health.

Henry says a backlog of about 6,000 tests was cleared up over the weekend. She notes the active cases and percent-positive tests have remained stable.

The new cases bring the provincial total to 10,734, spread through B.C. as follows:

  • 3,892 — Vancouver Coastal (up by 164)
  • 5,595 — Fraser Health (up by 342)
  • 235 — Island Health (up by 10)
  • 582 — Interior Health (up by 23)
  • 341 — Northern Health (up by 10)
  • 89 — Reside outside of Canada (unchanged)

Henry reported 1,476 active cases in the province Tuesday, including 77 patients who are in hospital and 24 who are in critical or intensive care.

There were five more deaths due to COVID-19 over the past four days, including two in Fraser Health and three in Vancouver Coastal. That brings the provincial death toll to 250.

A total of 3,618 people are under active monitoring by public health officials due to exposures to known COVID-19 cases.

The number of people considered fully recovered from the virus is now 8,974, or 84 per cent of all known cases.