B.C. health officials are extending some new public health restrictions to the Northern Health region of the province as COVID-19 cases there continue to grow.

The restrictions will be similar to some of those currently in place in the Interior Health region.


Click to play video: 'New public health restrictions for B.C.’s Northern Health region as COVID-19 cases continue to grow'



New public health restrictions for B.C.’s Northern Health region as COVID-19 cases continue to grow


New public health restrictions for B.C.’s Northern Health region as COVID-19 cases continue to grow

This means any community in the Northern Health region, starting on Sept. 7, will be under the following restrictions:

Story continues below advertisement

  • Indoor personal gatherings will be limited to one other family or five people
  • Organized outdoor events over 200 people will need a COVID safety plan in place
  • Personal outdoor gatherings, such as birthday parties or barbecues, will be limited to 50 people

The province-wide mask mandate continues in all health regions. The vaccine card is still on track for Sept. 13.

Read more:
B.C. brings back mandatory masks in public indoor spaces for entire province


Click to play video: 'B.C. brings back mask mandate as COVID cases soar'



B.C. brings back mask mandate as COVID cases soar


B.C. brings back mask mandate as COVID cases soar – Aug 24, 2021

According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, some local health areas in Northern Health have some of the worst-case rates of COVID-19 for every 100,000 people.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the “vast majority” of people in Northern Health hospitals right now, about 90 per cent, are unvaccinated individuals.

Story continues below advertisement

He said most of the population over 65 in the region have been vaccinated but the population under 65 are not getting vaccinated at a rate they would like to see.

On Tuesday, during the latest modelling presentation, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in the areas where stricter measures have been put in place, particularly in the Central Okanagan, officials are now seeing the case rates come down.

Henry added there are still challenges in this region, particularly in regards to the forest fires burning and the challenges of setting up vaccine clinics that people can attend.

But rates are still rising in the north, particularly in the areas of Nechako, Fort. St James, Vanderhoof and Prince George area.

Story continues below advertisement

“We also see some higher rates in areas of low immunization in the Northern Health region,” Henry said.

“And some of those areas, in the Nechako for example, very small numbers can lead to high rates per population because it is a small population. But it does give us an indication that we need to pay attention to some of these areas as well, where we’re starting to see now rising clusters in cases.”

She also said Thursday they have seen transmission in the work camps.

In the last 10 days, there has been a six-times increase rate of transmission, Henry added, which has led to high capacity in the hospitals.


Click to play video: 'B.C. health officials take different approach with latest COVID-19 modelling data'



B.C. health officials take different approach with latest COVID-19 modelling data


B.C. health officials take different approach with latest COVID-19 modelling data

Read more:
B.C. is in a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ latest modelling numbers show

Story continues below advertisement

On Thursday, COVID-19 cases continued to mount in British Columbia Thursday, as health officials announced 801 new cases and six additional deaths.

It lifted the seven-day average for new cases to 708, the highest it has been since early May.

Of the new cases, 267 were in the Fraser Health region, 128 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 237 were in the Interior Health region, 103 were in the Northern Health region and 66 were in the Island Health region.

There were 5,931 active cases across the province.

Read more:
COVID-19: B.C. reports six new deaths, 801 new cases



© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Post source: Global News

You May Also Like

Doctors eye new drug that could end the monthly agony for women with endometriosis

[ad_1] For tens of thousands of women, a diagnosis of endometriosis means…

Warning signs of Alzheimer’s revealed as TV star Fiona Phillips reveals heart-breaking diagnosis

It is a cruel disease which blights the lives of millions of…

Manganese – Consumer

This is a reader-friendly overview of Manganese. For more details, see our…

PETER HITCHENS: How shadowy censors tried to remove my ‘unhelpful’ Covid views from YouTube 

I have been annoying people for decades. It is my job as…