“The risks from COVID-19 remain high for all of us, especially with the variants of concern”

DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, on Wednesday announced a total of 469 new COVID-19 cases, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 71,856 cases in British Columbia.

There have been six new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,269 deaths in the province.

To date, 157,797 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C., 14,316 of which are second doses. Immunization data is available on the COVID-19 dashboard: www.bccdc.ca

There are 4,305 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 230 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 66 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Currently, 6,820 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and a further 66,167 people who tested positive have recovered.

There have been 100 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 243 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 25 in the Island Health region, 46 in the Interior Health region, 53 in the Northern Health region and two new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Carrington Place Retirement Residence. The outbreak at Minoru Residence is now over.

Henry and Dix added: “The risks from COVID-19 remain high for all of us, especially with the variants of concern, which is why staying in our local community and avoiding any unnecessary travel is so important right now.

“This weekend is the weekend to stay home – to show your family and friends you care by not giving COVID-19 the opportunity to spread.

“There are over 200 activities happening around the province this weekend that you and your loved ones can safely enjoy. Check out the full listing here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/celebrating-british-columbia/bc-family-day

“By choosing small and safe for you and everyone around you, we can slow the virus and keep our positive momentum going.”