Cases continue to remain high in Northern Health and the data confirms it.
According to the latest Geographic Distribution of COVID-19 by Local Health Area of Case Residence numbers released by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) on Wednesday (Jan. 27), Prince George recorded 46 cases from Jan. 17-23, 2021.
From Jan. 10 to 16, the city and its surrounding region recorded 76 cases.
Peach River North recorded 31, while Peace River South added 13 cases and Nechako with an additional 12 infections.
Between the four areas, there were 102 cases in the same timeframe.
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 arriving in B.C., with Dr. Bonnie Henry stressing that residents need to follow guidelines and instructions while acknowledging she understands people are frustrated and tired.
“One year ago today, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in our province," Henry said in a statement.
"Since that day, the impact has been severe; people have become seriously ill and died, our lives have been disrupted and health-care workers everywhere have faced challenges at a scale never experienced before.
“Let’s encourage those around us to do the right thing and show kindness and compassion to those who appear not to be.
“As we have seen over the past year, one case can turn into thousands. But just as important, the effort we put into keeping ourselves and each other safe can also push our COVID-19 curve back down again.”
Premier John Horgan also said the province would crack down on those breaking rules and guidelines saying it'll 'come down on you like a ton of bricks.'
“If you are coming into British Columbia on non-essential travel … you better behave appropriately, better follow our public health guidelines or we'll come down on you like a ton of bricks,” he said during a news briefing in Victoria.
“For those who disregard the rules, we’re going to be taking steps to do what we can to make sure that they feel the pain of trying to get outside the box that all of us have been in.”
But Horgan would not commit to instituting tougher restrictions on interprovincial travellers, such as a 14-day quarantine like the one Manitoba has just instituted.
As of this publication (Jan. 28), Northern Health has a recorded total of 3,283 cases with 487 active.
There have been 61 deaths to date.
There are 48 patients currently hospitalized in the region with 18 in critical care.
- with files from Tyler Orton, Business In Vancouver, and The Canadian Press
