What you need to know about COVID-19 in B.C. for June 10, 2020

THE LATEST:

• Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced 12 new cases of COVID-19 detected in B.C. and no new deaths Wednesday.
• Wednesday makes five days in a row with no COVID-19-related deaths.
• One new outbreak has been detected at a Vancouver long-term care home.
• There have been 2,680 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C. as of Wednesday.
• 185 cases are still active.
• 167 people have died.
• 12 people are in hospital, including four in intensive care.
• Premier John Horgan extends B.C.'s state of emergency by two more weeks.
• Horgan said his government and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry have signed off on a plan to modify quarantine requirements to make Vancouver a possible NHL hub city.
• Government has passed an order protecting minor sports organizations from litigation related to COVID-19.

For the fifth day in a row, B.C. health officials have announced no COVID-19-related deaths.

On Wednesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in B.C.

As of Wednesday, there are 185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Twelve people are in hospital and four of them are in intensive care.

Since the pandemic began, B.C. has detected 2,680 cases in the province. 2,328 people who tested positive have recovered.

A total of 167 British Columbians have died.

Officials announced a new long-term care home outbreak at Holy Family Hospital in Vancouver. Five long-term care or assisted-living facilities in the province have active outbreaks.

Game on?

Premier John Horgan said the Vancouver Canucks' plan to host National Hockey League games in the city has the approval of his government and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Horgan said the plan involves a modification to quarantine requirements in B.C. allowing a team to be considered a family entity or a "bubble."

The team and its personnel would stay together in one hotel and travel to and from the rink together in private transportation.

Testing would be the responsibility of the teams and no interaction with the public would be allowed for the 14-day quarantine.

"It's only expanding the number of people within the bubble that would allow the NHL teams to come to Vancouver," Horgan said Wednesday at a media availability in Victoria.

Horgan also made an announcement for minor sports Wednesday: his government, he said, passed an order shielding minor sports organizations, officials and volunteers from legal liability as a result of COVID-19.

Horgan said the announcement would help encourage people to get outside and be active.

He said many of these organizations have heard from insurers that they would not get insurance for COVID-19-related liability during the pandemic.

Minor sport organizations, he said, will have to follow public health directives.

'We need to watch closely'

Horgan also announced that B.C.'s state of emergency would be extended for another two weeks. Under B.C. law, states of emergency can only be in place for two weeks at a time.

Henry said Tuesday it's important to remain cautious while transmission is still increasing globally.

"The global case count continues to rise and many regions are facing a resurgence in cases. Just yesterday was the highest single day for new cases globally. This is concerning for all of us," the provincial health officer said Tuesday.

"We need to watch closely what is happening globally and in B.C., and we need to do all we can to protect our communities and our province."

As the province continues to reopen, more and more people are back on public transit. TransLink on Wednesday said its system-wide boardings were 85 per cent higher last week than they were during the second week of April, which had the lowest ridership levels of the pandemic.

There were 2,578,000 boardings from May 31 to June 6, compared to 1,396,000 between April 5 and 11. The majority of those passengers were on buses.

ICBC is also resuming its commercial road tests for Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 licences. The tests will be starting again on June 11 by appointment only.

READ MORE:

• Your guide to financial help available for people in B.C. affected by the crisis
• How to apply for EI and COVID-19 emergency benefits
• Get the latest advisories, updates and cancellations for B.C.

Top COVID-19 stories today

• Members of a City of Vancouver committee have added their voices to the call for the collection of race-based COVID-19 data to understand the impacts of the virus on racialized communities.
• The years-long epidemic of fatal drug overdoses across Canada is worsening, harm-reduction workers and doctors say, as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions exacerbates the toxic supply of opioids.
• Penticton is one week into pilot program to allow public drinking at the city's main beach on Okanagan Lake and some waterfront parks. Here's a look at how that's going.
• A Vancouver motion to fast-track allowing alcohol consumption at some city parks and beaches has been withdrawn to give city staff time to look into getting approval from the provincial government.
• Vehicles will soon be allowed back in Stanley Park, but in a reduced capacity as the Vancouver Park Board and city staff study ways of reducing traffic.
• The Interior Health region has recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 since May 27.

What's happening elsewhere in Canada

As of 4:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday, there were 96,653 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases in Canada, with more than 55,572 considered recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial data, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 7,952.

For a look at what's happening across the country and the world, check the CBC interactive case tracker.

If you have a COVID-19-related story we should pursue that affects British Columbians, please email us at [email protected]