VANCOUVER -- B.C. health officials announced 30 more cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the province since Monday.
This total includes one epi-linked case, bringing the total number of cases confirmed in the province to 3,328, the health ministry said in a statement Tuesday. Officials said 2,873 people are considered to be fully recovered.
There have been no new deaths reported, leaving the province's death toll from the virus at 189.
There are currently 266 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Active cases have been surging in recent days, reaching levels the province hasn't seen since the end of May.
Fifteen people are in hospital, and of those, three patients are in intensive care. The other people with the virus are self-isolating at home, according to the ministry.
The vast majority of cases have been recorded in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions, with 1,043 and 1,731 cases of the virus recorded in each region, respectively. Interior Health has now recorded 291 cases, which is an increase of 11 since Monday.
There are 140 cases in Island Health, 69 in Northern Health, and 54 cases among people who reside outside of Canada.
Health officials said Tuesday's update includes a "data correction" in the number of overall cases and active cases.
"Here in B.C., our curve is trending upward, and we need to bend our curve back down to where it belongs," health officials said.
Many of the new cases came from community exposure during increased social interactions over the summer, according to the ministry.
Contact tracing is ongoing, and public health teams are asking anyone who might have been exposed to the virus to monitor themselves for symptoms and follow advice from health officials.
"This trend is a concern, but we can turn this trend around," the statement says.
Transmission of the virus can be stopped by seeing fewer people, spending time only with people you know, practising physical distancing and wearing a mask when distancing isn't possible, the ministry said.
No new outbreaks were detected in health-care facilities, but there are three active outbreaks. One is in a long-term care home, and two are in acute care facilities. Officials continue to deal with one community outbreak and several other community exposure events.
Health officials commended businesses that have proactively notified the public about potential exposure events and closed temporarily to allow for thorough cleaning.
"This is a clear example of how we can contain the risk when it is known, slow the spread and continue to operate safely," the ministry said.
Health officials acknowledged the recent community cases mean restaurants, wineries and recreational facilities in the Okanagan and the Lower Mainland have been notified about potential exposure events with some employees.
Workers at two restaurants in the Tri-Cities tested positive for the virus. Three workers at the Earls in Port Coquitlam have the virus, though the company has not said what jobs they held or when they were on shift.
The employee learned they had potentially been exposed to the virus outside of work on Saturday, and received a positive test result on Sunday, prompting the restaurant to temporarily close its doors.
One employee at the Browns Socialhouse in Port Moody also tested positive.
During Monday's update, Dr. Bonnie Henry discussed the province's most recent modelling data, which suggested B.C. was at risk of suffering an "explosive growth" in cases.
