There have been 267 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. confirmed since Friday, three deaths and an outbreak connected with a church in Kelowna.
Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said Monday that the increasing cases of COVID-19 are almost all related to socializing – weddings, funerals, birthdays and parties.
One new community outbreak was connected to the Calvary Chapel church in Kelowna, where five cases have been confirmed.
There have also been infections in three health or long-term care care facilities: Holy Family Hospital, Thornebridge Gardens, and Harrison West at Elim Village. That brings the total of active outbreaks in health care or long-term care facilities in B.C. to 13.
And while there have been exposure alerts at B.C. public schools, Henry said parents need not over-react by keeping their children home from school.
All health authorities now post exposure events at all public schools. But having an exposure event at a school does not mean the school has to be shut down or children kept home from school.
"Exposure events do not mean that your child has been exposed to COVID-19," Henry said. "Unless you have a call directly from public health, you don't need to worry about that.
"Just because there's been an exposure event does not mean you need to keep your children home."
Here are today’s COVID-19 numbers for Monday, September 28, with numbers from Friday September 25, the last reporting period, in brackets:
- New cases: 267 (98)
- Total: 8,908 (8,641)
- Active cases: 1,302 (1,349)
- Recovered: 7,346 (7,036)
- Hospitalized: 69 (62)
- Intensive care: 22 (19)
- Deaths: 233 (230)
Confirmed cases by region:
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 3,226
- Fraser Health: 4,555
- Island Health: 206
- Interior Health: 531
- Northern Health: 303
