B.C. recorded 23 new cases over Mother’s Day weekend, Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday (May 11).
That included 9 new cases from Saturday to Sunday and 14 more over the past 24 hours, bringing the province to a total of 2,353 tests positive cases. Of those, 1,719 people have recovered.
One person in Fraser Health died due to COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the province’s death toll to 130. There at 66 people in hospital with the virus, with 18 of them in ICU.
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Henry reminded British Columbians to “be calm, to be kind, to be safe” as they look forward to restrictions loosening this upcoming long weekend.
“We are now in a much better place” than when B.C. was at the height of its COVID-19 crisis in March.
But Henry urged people to “be patient” as the province reopens, both in terms of businesses and day-to-day activities.
“COVID-19 has not gone away, it is still a risk to us in our communities,” she said.
“We’re still in phase one,” Health Minister Adrian Dix added. “The best place to stay in B.C. is where you live.”
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Despite furor on social media over the weekend, Henry said people were largely being “reasonable” as they enjoyed record-breaking heat this weekend.
“The vast majority of them were in small groups, they were sitting apart from each other,” she said.
“We are not taking a punitive approach in this province and that has worked for us.”
Dix echoed Henry’s comments, saying there was a “significant effort” by people in his Joyce-Collingwood riding to follow physical distancing rules.
Given the low case count over the weekend, Henry said she “fully expects” the second phase of B.C.’s reopening to go ahead over the May long weekend. That phase will include small gatherings, dentistry, chiropractic, physiotherapy, in-person counselling, elective surgeries, as well as most day-use in provincial parks as of May 14. More retail businesses will also be able to open with WorkSafeBC guidance and voluntary in-person schooling is set to expand.
