Northern Health sees 13 new cases of Covid-19 since Friday, none attributed to Haida Gwaii

Two more cases of Covid-19 were reported in Northern Health today (August 13), for a regional total of 106.

The area has seen 13 cases since August 7th, however, the health authority says the spike isn’t related to the ongoing community outbreak on Haida Gwaii.

Spokesperson Eryn Collins confirms the remote archipelago has seen a total of 26 infections since the outbreak was declared on July 24.

“We do have a number of increased cases in the Northern Health region,” Collins explained. “Contact tracing is underway for all those newly confirmed cases.”

In an effort to curb the spread of the virus, the province restricted travel to Haida Gwaii on July 30. 

As of today (August 13), 25 of the 26 total cases have made a full recovery according to Collins.

“To date, all of the active cases within (Northern Health) are at home self-isolating,” she explained.

The recent new infections in the north are concentrated in the northeast and Peace regions of the province according to updated modeling from Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry.

“We’ve not had any circumstances where there have been potential public exposures, aside from the ongoing Haida Gwaii outbreak. We also haven’t had any other community or facility outbreaks,” she said.

If that were to become the case, more detailed information on locations would be released by Northern Health.

“At this point, contact tracing is continuing for each active case, and everyone is isolating at home,” Collins said, adding close contacts of people isolating have been notified.

Both Collins and Doctor Henry stress that COVID-19 is still circulating in many locations across BC, not just in the lower mainland.

“That is a reminder that it’s really important to follow the public health advice and guidance that we have. Secondly, If anyone were to be experiencing potential symptoms of COVID-19 that they self isolate and contact their healthcare provider,” noted Collins.