B.C. began October with 82 more COVID-19 cases determined from results of more than 10,000 tests.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said 10,899 tests conducted in one day is a record for B.C. and “an incredible feat” as labs around the province have ramped up capacity. The results are encouraging, with infected people being identified without passing the coronavirus on to many others, she said Oct. 1.
“We’re now seeing smaller clusters, and we’re seeing the numbers level off,” Henry said.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has reported one additional death, and one new outbreak in a long-term care home. A single staff member tested positive at George Derby Centre in Burnaby, the second time that facility has required the outbreak protocol.
Henry said there are concerns about positive tests in B.C. schools, where cases are being reported publicly by each regional health authority. Despite issues with communication in the early days, contact tracing staff are following up every positive test in a school, to identify who is a close contact and who isn’t in each case.
“Even if you have been in a school setting with someone, you may not be a close contact,” Henry said. “We know that’s working, and we’ve seen it in schools across the province.”
For schools, an “outbreak” is declared if there are two or more people who test positive and the origin of their exposure is not known, she said, and there have been none in B.C. schools so far.
As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the majority of new cases are recorded in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions. The latest cases include one on Vancouver Island, two in Interior Health and five in Northern Health.
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