Provincial Health Update—July 20th, 2020 from Dr. Henry, and Health Minister Dix:

  • 102 Positive Cases reported from the last 3 days; Our region (VCH) is now at 1,042
  • 253 Active Cases around BC; for the first time in months—ALL health regions across the Province have seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last 3 days; this is an increase of 61 ‘active cases’ since our last newsletter on July 16th
  • Increase in recent numbers is greatly associated with Kelowna outbreak (community transmission from restaurants, parties, bars, events)
  • 3,300 is the current COVID-19 case count for BC since the beginning of the pandemic

Main Concerns Voiced by Dr. Henry in today’s PHO Briefing:

We have flattened our curve here in BC, but we are now seeing an “UPWARD bend in the curve“

  • “We are at a turning point“ concerning the upward curve of infection rate and transmission rate
  • Increasing connections in unsafe ways, contact tracing efforts are increasing dramatically
  • If we are not careful we could have the potential to see “explosive growth” this summer
  • Concerns about increasing infection rates in younger populations, in their 20’s and 30’s

While Phase III allows for people to move about with less restrictions (e.g. camping, travelling within BC, parks, pools, increasing your ‘social bubble’), everyone should still be vigilant.  Keep in mind that young people are not immune to the virus, and can experience long term complications of COVID-19; there have been reports of blood clots, scar tissue in the lungs, long term organ damage.  Some other important information:

  • Always use layers of protection —> regular hand washing, avoid touching your face, use masks /facial coverings if you cannot maintain physical distancing, keep your groups small, do not ‘table hop’ at  restaurants
  • Data from BC, ON, AB, SK, MB, QB, NB, and PEI show an increase in COVID-19 infections between 20-29 year olds
  • Numbers from Public Health Agency Canada show that during the second week of July, the largest proportion of new cases reported—22% female, and 28% male between the ages of 20-29

 

“The more people you see the more likely it is for someone to have COVID”

“Fewer faces, bigger spaces”

-Dr. Bonnie Henry