The COVID-19 curve is slowly bending downward in British Columbia but health officials are urging caution for those making weekend plans given the presence of new variants.
The province confirmed 465 new cases Thursday for a total of 69,245 since the pandemic began.
Island Health reported 27 new confirmed cases, bringing the number of active cases to 265. There have been 1,755 cases in the region to date. Sixteen people are in hospital with COVID-19, and five are in intensive care.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement that the Super Bowl has potential to make Sunday a “super-spreading day” if people don’t make safe choices.
It is especially important to respect prohibitions on gatherings given uncertainties about the full impacts of COVID-19 variants of concern that have been confirmed in B.C., they said.
On Vancouver Island, the health authority declared outbreaks over at Chartwell Malaspina Care Residence in Nanaimo and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
The Chartwell Malaspina outbreak was declared Dec. 27 after one resident tested positive for COVID-19. In all, seven residents and two staff members tested positive. Two resident deaths were linked to the outbreak.
Two staff members and one patient tested postive at NRGH, where an outbreak was declared in the east wing of the fourth floor on Jan. 23. No other areas of the hospital were affected.
Three schools in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith district are now reporting clusters of COVID-19 cases. A cluster is when there are two or more confirmed cases within a 14-day period, with evidence of transmission occurring within the school.
The affected schools and potential dates of exposure are:
• Bayview Elementary — Jan. 25, 27, 29, 29 and Feb. 1
• Rock City Elementary — Jan. 26-29
• Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh School — Jan. 28
There are 4,447 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in B.C. and of those, 257 people are hospitalized including 76 in intensive care.
Six more people have died for a total death toll of 1,240 in B.C., while about 62,078 people who tested positive are considered recovered.
