A record 1,120 cases confirmed in B.C. from the weekend, however over 95 per cent are in the Lower Mainland. Just nine were reported in Island Health. (BC Government)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

RECORD NUMBERS

B.C. records over 1,100 new COVID-19 cases through weekend, 9 in Island Health

Nov 2, 2020 | 3:23 PM

NANAIMO — British Columbia has set a new record for COVID-19 cases over a three day period.

Dr. Réka Gustafson, deputy public health officer, announced 1,120 new cases of the virus throughout the province including nine within Island Health. The additions took Island Health’s total number of cases to 265, part of 15,501 across B.C.

A vast majority, 95.1 per cent of the new cases are from the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health authorities. Cases were discovered through just over 24,000 tests performed in B.C. over the weekend.

Within Island Health, 13 cases are active. Four cases are present in each of the south and central areas of Island Health, while there are five active cases to the north.

Provincially, the number of active cases increased to 2,945 with 90 people in hospital, 19 of whom receiving intensive care.

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Six people passed away from COVID-19 related issues over the weekend, all from the lower mainland. To date, 269 British Columbians have lost their lives to coronavirus.

Dr. Gustafson said during the province’s briefing on Monday a majority of cases recently are stemming from gatherings where people are inside and within close contact.

She added community transmission is occurring throughout B.C. however in many cases the province is able to contact trace effectively.

“To date, the vast majroity of people in British Columbia after some investigation are able to identify where they were infected so their source of infection is known,” Gustafson said.

Both Gustafson and health minister Adrian Dix emphasized family and social gatherings as a continued hot spot for new cases.

“Our desire to be together, our desire to party together can sometimes be our greatest weakness in a time of pandemic,” Dix said. “Those connections we count on, (where) we need to come together are the things COVID-19 seeks to spread.”

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