THE LATEST:
- Health officials announced 624 new cases on Friday and 11 more deaths.
- ‘Extremely high’ demand crashed the application site for the B.C. Recovery Benefit.
- The province is ramping up enforcement of public health orders to ensure more people are following its mask mandate and social gathering restrictions.
- There are 10,009 active cases of COVID-19 across the province.
- 358 patients are in hospital, with 93 in intensive care.
- 3 Fraser Valley churches fined for holding in-person services.
Applications for the B.C. Recovery Benefit are now open, as the holidays inch closer and the province surpasses 10,000 active cases of COVID-19.
Eligible adults in the province could start applying online for the $1,000 benefit as of 8:30 a.m. PT, but heavy demand crashed the government site almost immediately.
In a tweet, the province said the site was seeing “extremely high volume” and asked people to be patient while it works on the issue.
Families with incomes under $125,000 will be eligible to receive $1,000 and families earning up to $175,000 will qualify for a reduced amount. Single-parent families also qualify for these benefit amounts.
Single people earning less than $62,500 qualify for a $500 payment and individuals earning up to $87,500 will qualify for a reduced amount. The criteria is based on 2019 tax returns.
B.C. confirmed another 624 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Eleven more people have died. On Thursday, the province surpassed 10,000 active cases of the disease for the first time since the pandemic began.
There were 356 people in hospital as of Friday afternoon, with 92 in the intensive care unit.
Interior Health also announced that the number of cases connected to the Big White ski resort near Kelowna, B.C., has jumped to 76.
Also on Friday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said 1,376 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were administered to health-care workers, for a total of 2,592 to date.
Meanwhile, RCMP in the Fraser Valley say they have written tickets totalling $18,400 to representatives from three local churches for hosting in-person services contrary to provincial orders.
New testing guidelines announced
On Thursday, Henry announced new guidelines for COVID-19 testing. She said anyone who has had contact with a known case and has any possible symptoms should get tested immediately.
There are four key symptoms that should also prompt immediate testing, irrespective of whether there has been any contact with a COVID-19 case. The symptoms are fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste, and difficulty breathing.
Symptoms like sore throat, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea are a lower priority for testing. Anyone experiencing one or two of those symptoms should wait 24 hours and then get tested if they still feel the same or worse.
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What’s happening elsewhere in Canada
As of 4:30 a.m. PT Friday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 488,638, with 76,310 of those cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 13,916.
A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 13,799.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Common symptoms include:
- Fever.
- Cough.
- Tiredness.
- Shortness of breath.
- Loss of taste or smell.
- Headache.
But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia.
What should I do if I feel sick?
Use the B.C. Centre for Disease Control’s COVID-19 self-assessment tool. Testing is recommended for anyone with symptoms of cold or flu, even if they’re mild. People with severe difficulty breathing, severe chest pain, difficulty waking up or other extreme symptoms should call 911.
What can I do to protect myself?
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Keep them clean.
- Keep your distance from people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Wear a mask in indoor public spaces.
- Be aware of evolving travel advisories to different regions.
More detailed information on the outbreak is available on the federal government’s website.