B.C. health officials are reporting another new single day record for COVID-19 cases with 762, along with ten more deaths, taking the death toll to 320 people.

There were 38 new cases in the Interior Health Authority, which has now seen 1,144 cases of the virus. There are 209 active cases in the Interior with two people in hospital, one in ICU.

Active cases across B.C. have increased to a new record 6,861 with 209 people now in hospital, of which 58 are in ICU. A further 9,871 people are being actively monitored by public health teams as a result of an identified exposure to a known case of the virus.

“We have seen a rising number of new cases of COVID-19 across the province and we need to slow this down. We need to put the brakes on the virus and doing this requires a sustained effort by all of us,” Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

“This second surge is putting a strain on our health-care system, our workplaces and us all. We need to ease this pressure so we can continue to manage the virus in our province and also continue to do the many activities that are important to us.”

Of the 762 cases reported today, 691 were in the Lower Mainland (481 in Fraser Health and 210 in Vancouver Coastal Health). There were 20 new cases on Vancouver Island and 13 in Northern Health. There have also been 21 COVID-19 related deaths in the past two days after a record 11 reported yesterday.

Earlier today, Premier John Horgan said non-essential travel is prohibited anywhere in British Columbia for the next two weeks at least.

“While your personal efforts may seem small or having little impact, the collective benefit to every community in every region is significant. Our safety layers are there to help protect us and they work best when we are all using them, all of the time,” Henry added.

“Now is the time to stay small, stay local and do your part – at home, work, school and in your community.”

Health officials say the outbreak at La Casa Resort in West Kelowna has been declared over.

And there are now 16,914 people who are considered to have recovered from COVID-19, about 69 per cent of the total 24,422 cases.