B.C. health officials are reporting 119 new cases of COVID-19 heading into the Thanksgiving long weekend, taking the total number of cases in the province to 10,185.

Two of those new cases were reported in the Interior Health region today – 18 of them currently active with one person in hospital.

Provincewide, the active case count has increased to 1,406, with a further 3,180 people under active public health monitoring as a result of an identified exposure to known COVID-19 case.

There were no deaths reported, leaving the death toll at 245 people, but there are 68 people in hospital, of which 19 are in intensive care.

“Let’s do all we can to protect ourselves and our loved ones from COVID-19 by ensuring we always use our layers of protection this long weekend,” a statement from Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “The care we show each other today will help protect all of us tomorrow, so let’s make this Thanksgiving about safe connections and safe celebrations.”

“We offer our thanks and gratitude to everyone throughout the province and in particular, our front-line essential workers, for doing so much to keep our communities safe and strong.”

As it stands, there are 8,502 people who tested positive that are now considered to have recovered, about 83 per cent of the total.