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Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry going in-depth on the COVID-19 pandemic. (flickr/Gov't of B.C.)
covid-19 update

16 new COVID-19 cases for Island Health, Dr. Henry dives deep into B.C. stats

Nov 12, 2020 | 3:45 PM

NANAIMO — A deep dive into COVID-19 stats in B.C. showed signs of promise amid the dispiriting rise in cases.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Thursday, Nov. 12 confirmed more than 1,100 new cases across the province since Tuesday. This includes 16 within Island Health with 51 active.

Fraser Health continues to be at the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in B.C., with more than 800 cases confirmed in the last two days.

There’s currently 5,793 active cases with 155 people in hospital and 44 patients receiving critical care.

“Right now a lot of the focus of transmission in our community is because of our social interactions, whether in the community or at home when we don’t put in place the same measures in our home,” Dr. Henry said.

Despite the high numbers, there was some good news within the comprehensive data.

Dr. Henry explained while cases in B.C. are doubling every 13 days, the rate of hospitalization isn’t.

Early in the pandemic, roughly 20 per cent of cases were hospitalized. As of Nov. 12 it’s now down to six per cent.

The number of people in hospital has reached near the same as at the beginning of the pandemic, but far more cases are being confirmed each day.

More localized data was revealed on Thursday.

Data from the BC Centre for Disease Control confirmed 36 cases in the Nanaimo area since the beginning of the pandemic.

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is the site of the first COVID-19 outbreak within Island Health.

Exposure events were also confirmed at two Nanaimo secondary schools.

The Oceanside area has reported eight cases.

The Central Vancouver Island has seen 103 COVID-19 cases by November, an increase of roughly 40 since the last geographic update in October.

South Vancouver Island has had 126 cases with 95 in the northern regions of Island Health.

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