B.C.'s top doctor says 'pay attention now' to higher COVID-19 cases

British Columbia's provincial health officer says a higher number of COVID-19 cases over the last three days means the province could experience a rapid rebound of infections after successfully ``bending the curve.''

Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. recorded 102 cases of the virus since Friday because people have increased their contacts by 20 or 30 people in some cases, from a low of three to four, so it's time to ``pay attention now.''

Henry says she's concerned the province is at a ``tipping point'' and it's more challenging for public health workers to do contact tracing when an infected person has socialized with a greater number of people.

She says gatherings should be limited to six people, mostly outdoors, and people should know who they're connecting with.

Henry says a survey of over 394,000 British Columbians indicates younger people between the ages of 18 to 29 are experiencing more mental health and financial concerns.

She says the survey also suggests only 67 per cent of people stay home from work when they're sick, and there's a need to address the reasons behind that.