B.C. announces 22 new COVID-19 cases, nearly all in the Fraser Health region

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting 22 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. on Wednesday and one new death in the past 24 hours. Twenty-one of the 22 new confirmed cases are in the Fraser Health region.

The increase follows the announcement ofjust four new caseson Tuesday.

B.C. health officials now report a total of 2,623 COVID-19 cases in the province, with 2,243 patients having recovered.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, in a joint statement with Health Minister Adrian Dix, announced on Wednesday that 32 people are now in hospital with the virus, seven of whom are in the intensive care unit.

"There has been one new COVID-19 related death in the Fraser Health region, for a total of 166 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic," Dix and Henry said in thestatement.

Two outbreaks have been declared over atCottage-Worthington Pavilion and at The Cedars in Mission. There are now six long-term care or assisted living facilities in B.C. that have ongoing outbreaks.

Public health officials say their teamscontinue to provide support for seven other ongoing outbreaks.

The statement from Dix and Henry also incudes a caveat around protests.

"Exercising our right to peaceful demonstration is extremely important, and equally important is keeping our communities, loved ones and friends safe during this pandemic," they said, adding that physical distancing rules apply equally to going to the grocery store and taking part in a demonstration.