DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, on Thursday announced 357 new COVID-19 cases, for a total of 140,953 cases in British Columbia.

There have been three new COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 1,661 deaths in the province.

There are 4,636 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. A further 134,521 people who tested positive have recovered.

Of the active cases, 331 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 113 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

There have been 80 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 210 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 12 in the Island Health region, 33 in the Interior Health region, 22 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There is one new outbreak at Chartwell Carlton Care (Fraser Health). The outbreaks at Dawson Creek and District Hospital and Orchard Haven are now over.

Henry and Dix said: “Recently, it has come to our attention that two outbreaks at assisted-living facilities in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) had not been previously reported publicly. These outbreaks occurred in late 2020 and had been managed by VCH with the involved facilities. This information has been provided today and included on the Outbreak Report on the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) website.”

They added: “2,687,360 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to adults 18 and over in B.C., 138,908 of which are second doses.

“Vaccine appointments are now being booked for the 310,000 B.C. youth aged 12-17. They will be welcome at the clinics we have open throughout the province – whether at our large immunization sites, or in some cases, clinics set up for whole-of-community immunization.

“Our goal is to have all youth vaccinated with their first dose before the end of the school year.

“Like our adult program, all youth need to register online, by phone or at a Service BC centre. To book an appointment, youth can do it themselves or can have a parent, guardian or trusted adult assist them.

“This is an exciting next step in our provincewide immunization program. Just like we have seen countless people celebrating their vaccine with photos to friends and family on social media, so too do we look forward to also seeing young adults joining the team of millions of people across our province who are doing their part.

“Many youth have been negatively impacted by this virus. Now, they too will have the opportunity to be vaccinated, to get protected and also protect those around them.

“Getting vaccinated is how we will be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. We’re making significant progress and by registering and booking your vaccination, combined with staying small and staying local, we will all be one step closer.”