While many people are tired of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it remains a threat here in British Columbia and around the world.
Canada has had measures to slow the spread of this pandemic since March, 2020 and vaccines have been developed, but the COVID-19 cases are still being reported.
The latest figures, from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, show there were 62 new cases in Island Health as of Monday, Aug. 9.
Because of the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, even one case is cause for concern. Efforts are still needed in order to bring the number of new cases as close as possible to zero.
Around the world, more than 200 million cases of COVID-19 have been recorded, and while vaccines have been administered, the number of new daily cases worldwide has been topping 600,000 a day, according to information from the World Health Organization.
Worldwide, more than 4.2 million people have died as a result of this pandemic.
More than 72 per cent of British Columbians have received at least one dose, and more than 55 per cent have received two doses of a vaccine. This is encouraging, but higher numbers would be better, especially with the rise of some highly contagious COVID-19 variants.
Some of those variants have been capable of breaking through vaccinations, but even then, a vaccinated person still comes out healthier most of the time.
Although some of the restrictions have been relaxed, it still makes sense to exercise caution. There is nothing wrong with wearing a face mask or social distance, even if one has received both doses of the vaccine. And there is nothing wrong with continuing frequent hand washing.
For those who have not yet received a vaccine, please consider getting yours as soon as possible. It’s a simple step to help slow the spread of this virus.
We all want to see this pandemic behind us, but we are not yet at that point.
– Black Press