Northern B.C. saw a single new case of COVID-19 reported on Friday.
In a joint statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy minister of health Stephen Brown said the total number of cases in northern B.C. since the start of the pandemic increased to 331.
"Today, we are announcing 119 new cases, including four epi-linked case, for a total of 10,185 cases in British Columbia," Henry and Brown said. "There are 1,406 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 3,180 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 8,502 people who tested positive have recovered. Currently, 68 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 19 of whom are in intensive care."
The number of active cases and patients hospitalized in the north wasn't provided. On Friday, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 13 active cases in the Northern Health region – down three from Thursday – with one COVID-19 patient hospitalized and in intensive care.
Data released by the B.C. CDC on Thursday showed there had been 45 new cases of COVID-19 over the past two weeks in the three health service delivery areas that make up Northern Health – 22 in the Northern Interior (which includes Prince George), 12 in the Northwest and 11 in the Northeast.
The Northern Interior had more new cases between Sept. 25 and Oct. 8 than any health service delivery area outside of the Lower Mainland.
No new deaths linked to COVID-19 were reported on Friday, leaving the provincial death toll from the pandemic at 245 – including three people who lived in the Northern Health region.
"There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at the Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre. In total, 15 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and three acute-care facilities have active outbreaks," Henry and Brown said. "There have been no new community outbreaks."
Henry and Brown urged B.C. residents to have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving long weekend.
"The care we show each other today will help protect all of us tomorrow, so let's make this Thanksgiving about safe connections and safe celebrations," they said. "We offer our thanks and gratitude to everyone throughout the province and in particular, our front-line essential workers, for doing so much to keep our communities safe and strong."
