Outbreak at the Mission prison declared over, 9 new cases reported in B.C.

The COVID-19 outbreak at the Mission prison in BC's Fraser Valley has been declared over.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have been no new cases for two incubation periods in what was one of the largest outbreaks in the province.

More than 130 inmates and staff tested positive for the virus and one inmate died.

Henry says the protocols that were developed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the prison are being used in federal correctional facilities across the country.

Two more people died in the province and nine others were diagnosed with the virus, while two thousand one hundred and 53 people have fully recovered.

Henry says the BC coroner's report that 117 people died of illicit drug overdoses last month is disheartening and COVID-19 isolating restrictions are an added challenge in preventing people from using drugs alone.