COVID-19 outbreak declared at Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre; B.C. reports 1,370 new cases

KAMLOOPS — A COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre, per the B.C. government’s COVID-19 pandemic update for Monday (Nov. 1).

Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre had a lengthy COVID-19 outbreak earlier in the year.

Gemstone is one of six new healthcare facility outbreaks, for a provincial total of 39 active outbreaks. Of them, seven are in Interior Health. The other active outbreak in Kamloops is at Overlander Residential Care.

There were 1,370 new COVID-19 cases reported in B.C. over the past three days, with 222 of them in Interior Health. Provincially, there are 4,668 active cases (down by 314 since Oct. 29), with 588 of them in Interior Health (down by 96).

The three-day breakdown is as follows:

• Oct. 29 to 30: 568 new cases
• Oct. 30 to 31: 470 new cases
• Oct. 31 to Nov. 1: 332 new cases

Of the provincial active cases, 436 individuals are in hospital and 140 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

In the past 72 hours, 25 new deaths were reported, seven of them in Interior Health, for a provincial total of 2,181.

Elsewhere, 603 new cases were reported in Fraser Health (2,024 active), 218 in Island Health (663), 203 in Northern Health (764) and 124 in Vancouver Coastal Health (570). No new cases were reported from people who reside outside of Canada, but that active count sits at 59.

On the vaccination front, B.C. a significant milestone. As of Nov. 1, 90 per cent (4,169,986) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 85.3 per cent (3,954,068) have received their second.