6 new COVID19 deaths on Thursday

The COVID-19 curve is slowly bending downward in British Columbia but health officials are urging caution for those making weekend plans given the presence of new variants.

The province confirmed 465 new cases Thursday for a total of 69,245 since the pandemic began.

There are 4,447 active cases and of those, 257 people are hospitalized including 76 in intensive care.

Six more people have died for a total death toll of 1,240 in B.C., while about 62,078 people who tested positive are considered recovered.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that the Super Bowl has potential to make Sunday a "super-spreading day" if people don't make safe choices.

As we make plans for this weekend, let’s make safe choices and avoid making Super Bowl a superspreading day. This is especially important because we’re still learning about the full impact of the #COVID19 variants.

— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) February 4, 2021

It is especially important to respect prohibitions on gatherings given uncertainties about the full impacts of COVID-19 variants of concern that have been confirmed in B.C.

"Here in B.C., our curve is slowly moving downward. With each day we keep our wall strong and show compassion and kindness to those around us, we can keep the trend going," they say.