British Columbia is at a critical point five months along its pandemic timeline: For the first time since COVID-19 took hold, case projections have rebounded to peak levels. That is concerning, but it's not a predictive model," cautioned Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry during her epidemiological modelling update on Thursday. Hospitals were cleared out in an extraordinary move to make room for a potential influx in COVID-19 patients. The strategy itself traces back to the provincial health officer's months-old hints of a "philosophical point" in the pandemic: the juncture where reopening society will trigger a higher caseload. And the plan definitely wasn't to have the rise happen in the weeks right before school restarts, stirring up fear.

Source: CBC News August 15, 2020 13:00 UTC