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53 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths cap off week of high infection rates in B.C.

Roughly 1,500 people are self-isolating because they either have COVID-19 or have been exposed to it
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Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix give a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic at the B.C. legislature, April 21, 2020. (B.C. government)

B.C. recorded 53 new COVID-19 cases between Thursday evening and Friday morning (Aug. 7), health officials have confirmed.

In a joint statement, provincial health office Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that three of the cases are epi-linked, which means the person did not test positive for the virus but displayed some symptoms after being in close contact with an infected person or work in a facility with a known outbreak.

The new test-positive cases bring the number of active confirmed infections to 386 across the province.

A total of 3,934 people have been diagnosed with the contagious respiratory illness, of which roughly 86 per cent have recovered.

Friday saw no new deaths, keeping the total number of lives lost from COVID-19 at 195.

ALSO READ: 3 Vancouver police officers test positive for COVID after responding to large party

The new cases cap off a week of high daily case counts – connected to a number of community exposure events in recent weeks, primarily private parties.

Currently, more than 1,500 people are self-isolating due to being exposed to someone infected with the disease – a concern for Henry and Dix.

“As we see new COVID-19 hot spots emerge and the new cases creep up in every health authority, we have to keep our firewall strong,” they said.

“Like a wildfire, COVID-19 has the potential to rapidly burn out of control and we need to put out these flare-ups.”

On Friday, Fraser Health announced a new health-care facility outbreak at Derby Manor in Burnaby, bringing the total number of outbreaks at long-term or assisted living facilities to five.

Heading into the weekend, Henry and Dix called on British Columbians to keep their bubbles small.

“This weekend, let’s continue to hold the line and remember that we can keep our curve flat. We can continue to do that by staying committed to each other.”


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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