Island Health is concerned about a large increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among young people.
Island Health shared a call on Facebook and Instagram for people from 20 to 39 years old to avoid indoor gatherings and to stay within the same group when outdoors.
Island Health reports a 60 per cent increase in infections in this age group, which comprised 47 per cent of the health region’s COVID-19 cases during the past seven days.
Island Health says it’s “crucial at this time” to follow the province’s public health orders and is urging young people to protect themselves, friends, family, and the community:
- Do not host or attend parties or gatherings in your or other people’s homes
- When gathering outside, stick to the same group of up to 10 people
- Remember that restaurants, their patios and bars are not included as places to gather with your group of 10
- When gathering outside, maintain your physical distance and wear a mask if you or someone else is more at-risk
On Friday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported 908 new cases of COVID-19, including 55 in the Island Health region, and said the number of active cases was 6,245.
She also reported 140 new confirmed cases that are COVID-19 variants of concern.
Dr. Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say the province has been able to relax some restrictions, but while some activities are safe for us to do, others simply are not.
“Seeing different friends on different days – even if we are outside – is unsafe. So is gathering in our homes where the layers of protection, like physical barriers and masks, are not used.”
They say that while vaccines are increasing protection for all of us – we are facing a sustained increase in clusters of new cases and outbreaks, including more cases caused by variants of concern.
