B.C. health officials are reporting another 234 cases of COVID-19 today, taking the total number of cases to 14,109 in the province.

There was also one more death reported in Fraser Health, a woman in her 80s who got COVID-19 at a small birthday party with around ten guests, according to Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. She says one guest had COVID-19 and inadvertently spread the virus to other people who were present.

“Many of the new cases we have today are directly linked to gatherings in our homes and elsewhere, and are now resulting in community transmission of COVID-19 across the province,” she said.

“This has been particularly the case in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley.”

Seven of the new cases today were in the Interior Health Authority which has now reported 734 cases of the virus. There are now 2,344 active cases of the virus with 86 people in hospital, 24 of whom are in intensive care.

Public health teams are also actively monitoring a new record of 5,714 people who are in self-isolation due to COVID-19 exposures across the province.

Henry again urged people to stick to small groups – their safe six – and to avoid large private gatherings with people outside their immediate bubbles. She also reminded people to ensure their safe six are the same six people.

She notes Thanksgiving and other celebrations is what has led to most of the new cases in B.C., and she’s asking people to keep celebrations small and to your own household.

“That means no Halloween parties this weekend,” Henry said. “This is because many of the things we do at parties and celebrations, things like talking and hugging and eating and drinking together indoors are much, much riskier.”

Public health teams conducted 10,129 tests since yesterday for a 2.3 per cent positivity rate.

There are now 11,448 people who are considered to have recovered from COVID-19 across B.C., about 81 per cent of the total.