62 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., three deaths

There have been 62 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in B.C. since Friday, and three more deaths, the Health Minister announced today, July 13.

That brings the total number of cases to 3,115 provincewide, with 208 cases considered active and 2,718 recovered. Within the Interior Health region, there are now 209 cases, a rise of six from last week.

These new cases were announced on the heels of a press conference where Kelowna was the focus for community exposure spanning the time from June 25 to July 6. Two resort hotels, a restaurant, a spin facility and an Air Canada flight have since been named as locations where at least eight people with COVID-19 had been. These people were in their 20s and 30s, were not necessarily known to each other and had attended parties together.

"While we’re on vacation, we’re not on vacation from our responsibilities with respect to COVID-19," Health Minister Adrian Dix said.

“When people come together for private parties, largely people in their 20s and 30s, risks are considerably higher … They are enclosed spaces with people coming from different walks of life who may not know each other at all.”

Dix said British Columbians can travel, but warned that we have to be as respectful as we would be in our home communities.

"Until a vaccine or effective treatment is available, our focus is to keep new cases low and slow. And to do this, all of us need to do our part, to show kindness and patience with those around us and take precautions to protect each other," he said later, in a press release.

"We must not lose sight of the fact that COVID-19 symptoms can be mild, making it very easy to spread the virus to those around us. That is why our foundational rules for safe social interactions are so important."

Of the total COVID-19 cases, 14 individuals are hospitalized, five of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

There have been 1,012 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,643 in the Fraser Health region, 135 in the Island Health region, 209 in the Interior Health region, 65 in the Northern Health region and 51 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There have been two new COVID-19 related deaths in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, for a total of 189 deaths in British Columbia. 

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. In total, two long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility have active outbreaks.

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