B.C.’s top doctor says an increase in new cases of COVID-19, including new variants that are more transmissible, is cause for concern, and she asked people to observe COVID safety orders for the next three months.
Asked if B.C. is in a third wave of the pandemic, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said while she’s not a fan of the “wave analogy,” “we had a very high peak in our second wave prior to vaccinations being available, and now we’re at a high level that keeps me awake at night, for sure.”
On Monday, Henry reported 1,785 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend — including 166 new variant cases — and another 16 deaths.
The new cases are mainly arising from transmission in workplaces and homes.
The figure includes 89 new cases in the Island Health region, for a total of 278 active cases, including 13 who are in hospital with COVID-19.
Of the new variant cases, most are the U.K. variant and in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal health regions. Relatively few new variants have been found on the Island — eight to date.
Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix stressed Monday that while the growing number of people being vaccinated is good news, not enough people are vaccinated to “keep us all safe.”
In B.C., 10.5 per cent of the 4.3 million people eligible have received a first dose of vaccine.
“It is progress, it’s ahead of where we thought we’d be at this point, but nonetheless, it’s 10.45 per cent,” said Dix.
Key indicators such as hospitalizations, the number of people in intensive care and active cases are still “too high, or worse, moving in the wrong direction,” said Dix.
“COVID doesn’t care have about vaccine optimism — it spreads to live and lives to spread,” said Dix.
Henry said new cases have been slowly and steadily growing for several weeks, mostly in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions. She said more young people, from age 20 to 59, are ending up in hospital and needing intensive care.
Provincial heath orders restricting indoor gatherings remain in place and businesses must continue to have COVID-19 safety plans, said Henry. Public health officials are working with partners including WorkSafe B.C. to ensure establishments follow their safety plans, she said.
“If you are blatantly disregarding of public health orders, there are ramifications for them,” said Henry.
Dix said gathering indoors continues to be a major problem, especially given new variants that spread more easily and faster, even with minimal contact. “If you’re thinking of going out for a birthday celebration, or someone invites you to a wedding celebration, do not go right now.”
Indoor gatherings are restricted to household members only, while outdoor gatherings of up to 10 close contacts are allowed, with the usual safety measures in place, including physical distancing.
The provincial health officer said she is putting the “final touches” on amendments to restrictions on outdoor religious gatherings, with an announcement expected in the next day or so.
Henry and Dix said they are hearing concerning news of people planning celebrations for spring, and said no such celebrations should be considered until at least summer. The province hopes that everyone who wants to be vaccinated will have had access to a first shot by July 1.
It takes two to three weeks for a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to become fully effective. Second “booster” doses in the province are being scheduled up to four months later.
More than 539,408 doses of all three COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C. to date. There have been 497 adverse events following immunizations, 50 of which involved anaphylaxis or allergic reactions.
