B.C. has 161 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, three additional deaths

VICTORIA – British Columbia announced 161 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and three additional deaths related to the virus.

In a statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say there are 1,302 active cases in the province.

Sixty-three people were being treated in hospital, with 16 of them in intensive care.

The province has had a total of 9,381 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and the number of people who have died stood at 238.

The statement says there were 3,114 people being monitored because they have been exposed to a known case.

On Thursday, Henry said the province had done a record 10,899 tests over a 24-hour period and found 82 people with the virus, which she described as very low, representing one per cent of positive cases.

Henry said that’s an indication that contact tracing is contributing to the levelling off of cases.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.