B.C. health officials are set to hold their first COVID-19 update of 2021.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix will report four days of COVID-19 data on Monday afternoon.
The news conference at 3 p.m. will be carried live on BC1, on our website, the Global BC Facebook page and CKNW.
During its last update on New Year’s Eve, the province reported 683 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths, to bring B.C.’s COVID-19 death past 900.
Monday’s update comes as elementary and secondary school students across the province returned to the classroom following winter break.
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Coronavirus: B.C. kids return to school Monday but anxiety among some parents remains high
Some parents have expressed concern about sending their kids back to school, given recent positivity rates and a new variant of the illness detected in B.C. that could spread more easily in the school system.
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COVID-19 positivity rate hits all-time high in B.C. amid fewer tests
As of Monday morning, more than 60,000 parents have signed an online petition asking the province to keep schools closed for another two weeks.
Surrey’s school superintendent Jordan Tinney sent a letter to parents of students at Earl Marriott Secondary, telling them of 50 cases involving individuals across five classes sharing common areas and structures that had been identified. Those affected had been told to self-isolate over the holidays.
— With files from Amy Judd