Island Health reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total in the region since Friday to 18.
There are now 22 known active cases on the Island — eight in the south Island, six in the central Island, and eight in the north.
A total of 335 cases were reported across the province on Wednesday, with the vast majority — 205 — in the Fraser Health region.
The B.C. government also recorded another death related to the illness, bringing the death toll in the province to 273. Six of those have been in Island Health.
Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement the novel coronavirus doesn’t recognize regional borders.
“A small cluster in one region can quickly become an outbreak in another. That is why provincewide orders are in place throughout B.C. and why we all need to use our layers of protection all the time,” the statement says.
Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, the chief medical health officer for Fraser Health, said 75 to 80 per cent of new cases there are linked to a known exposure, leaving about 20 per cent of infections with an unknown source.
She said the illness is being transmitted primarily at private households, including social gatherings and celebrations where it’s difficult to maintain safety measures, and at work sites.
Brodkin told a news conference on Wednesday the timelines for contact tracing depend on the individual case and circumstance, but public health workers in Fraser Health are generally meeting their timelines for following up with people who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Several sports teams in Chilliwack, which falls within the Fraser Health region, have suspended or wrapped up their seasons in order to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
The Chilliwack minor hockey and ringette associations have paused play until further notice, while the Cheam Skating Club has cancelled its programming until at least Saturday and the Chilliwack Minor Football Association has called off the rest of its season.
Fraser Health CEO Dr. Victoria Lee said an outbreak at a dance studio in Chilliwack has led to 38 cases so far, as well as 13 exposures in schools. There haven’t been any secondary cases linked to those exposures, she said.
The dance studio was operating with a COVID-19 safety plan in place, Brodkin said earlier in the week.
Fraser Health has recorded 9,439 of the 16,135 cases confirmed in B.C. since the start of the pandemic. Vancouver Coastal Health has recorded the second-highest number of cases among regional health authorities with 5,097 infections, while Island Health has had 274.
There were 3,120 active infections in B.C. as of Wednesday.
