VANCOUVER -- B.C. has recorded another 132 cases of COVID-19, health officials announced Friday.
That brings the total number of cases identified locally since the start of the pandemic to 6,962, and the province's active caseload now sits at 1,461.
Eighty-three more people have recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries up to 5,273.
The number of people under active public health monitoring after being exposed to a known case of the coronavirus has risen to 3,198 -- an increase of 89 since Thursday.
The last update of the week from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix came in the form of a statement, rather than a live news conference.
No deaths were recorded, meaning the provincial death toll from the coronavirus remains at 213.
The number of people in hospital increased to 49, up from 42 on Thursday, but the number of patients in critical care decreased to 10 from 14.
Hospitalizations, one of the most important ways to measure the severity of the pandemic, are now higher than they've been since mid-May, but are still well below B.C.'s peak in April.
Officials also announced a new outbreak in a health-care facility.
Fraser Health said a staff member at Evergreen Hamlets, a long-term care facility in Surrey, tested positive for COVID-19. The worker is in self-isolation at home.
Evergreen is owned and operated by H&H Total Care Services. Fraser Health says a rapid response team is at the facility and they are in touch with residents and their families.
There are now 14 long-term care and three acute care facilities dealing with active outbreaks.
No new community outbreaks were detected.
Dix and Henry thanked British Columbians for "doing their part to protect our province" during the pandemic.
"We know that COVID-19 has not been without challenge and loss," they said in the statement.
"But we are working each day to find the balance of keeping new cases low and slow to protect those who are most vulnerable, while keeping our communities going."
The vast majority of B.C.'s cases have been in the Lower Mainland, with 2,419 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and 3,600 in Fraser Health. Island Health has recorded 190 cases, while Interior Health has seen 465 and 204 have been confirmed in the Northern Health region. Eighty-four cases have been identified among people who reside outside of Canada.
