VANCOUVER -- One person has died and 13 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in British Columbia in the past 24 hours, health officials announced Tuesday.
There have now been 2,835 confirmed cases of the virus in B.C., and 170 deaths. Sixteen patients are currently in hospital, and of those, seven are in critical care or ICU. The number of active cases in the province decreased slightly since Monday to 174.
The person who died was in long-term care in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, health officials say.
No new outbreaks were detected in the community or in long-term care, though there are seven active outbreaks in the health-care system. Six of those are in long-term care, and one is in acute care.
There are 2,491 people in the province who have fully recovered from the virus.
In addition to its update on case numbers, the province also announced new modelling data on the spread of the virus. The latest data suggests that B.C. has managed to keep its case numbers low, but that personal contacts are at "the threshold" for a rebound in new infections of COVID-19.
"We're at a point where we want things to go back to normal," provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. "We don't want to have to deal with this anymore. But we know that there's downsides to that."
Henry said that while B.C. has had success in dealing with the virus, the province cannot let up its efforts.
"We may have more cases that spread and that we'll have to manage and it may take community efforts to stop doing certain things," she said.
Henry added the province will "absolutely" have more cases and possibly more outbreaks in long-term care homes. She also emphasized the importance of working together and supporting others and described the last few months as having been"traumatic" for the community.
"This is not going to be forever, but it is going to be for, for now, and it's going to be likely into next year," she said.
Watch an American Sign Language translation of the news conference on the provincial government's YouTube page.