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B.C.’s COVID-19 cases drying up in summer heat, only 38 Monday

Now below 1,000 active infections province-wide
25653452_web1_20210628-BPD-cases-by-age-7-day-to-june24.21.bccdc
Daily COVID-19 cases in B.C. by age group, seven-day moving average to June 24, 2021. (B.C. Centre for Disease Control)

B.C. public health officials reported 57 new COVID-19 on Saturday, 50 on Sunday and 38 on Monday as immunization continues to target communities with the highest transmission rates.

The latest data show a “dramatic fall” in infections in all areas as vaccination rates reached “critical mass” in B.C., provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday. New cases fell below 100 a day for all of last week, and continue to decline as of June 28.

Henry presented the latest modelling data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, showing the “reproductive rate” low and stable, meaning people who contract the coronavirus are not passing it on. “That’s how the pandemic will fizzle out over time, as long as we don’t have infectious contacts,” Henry said.

The province is preparing to announce the second step of its reopening this week, including a change to the public health orders regarding masks and inter-provincial travel as of July 1.

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The province now has 930 active cases, with 107 people in hospital, 37 in intensive care. There were five more deaths attributed to COVID-19 since Friday, for a total of 1,754 since the pandemic began.

There is one new infection outbreak in the health care system, at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and one is ongoing at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody. Outbreak protocols remain in effect in three senior care facilities.

Targeted clinics have been used in local areas identified as the latest hot spots for infection, including Surrey, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Maple Ridge in the Fraser Health region, Central Okanagan, Vernon, Windermere and Fernie in Interior Health, Prince George, Dawson Creek and Fort St. John in Northern Health, and Cowichan Valley South, Saanich Peninsula and Vancouver Island North in Island Health.


@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca

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