“Even as we look to brighter days ahead, we must remember that the pandemic is far from over”

DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, on Tuesday announced 522 new cases of COVID-19, including eight epi-linked cases, for a total of 43,463 cases in British Columbia.

Unfortunately, there were 21 new COVID-19-related deaths, and the province’s total death toll now stands at 668.

There are 9,860 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 361 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 93 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Currently, 10,768 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and a further 31,866 people who tested positive have recovered.

There have been 84 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 338 new cases in the Fraser Health region, seven in the Island Health region, 56 in the Interior Health region, 37 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Burnaby Hospital. The outbreak at Langley Memorial Hospital long-term care facility has been declared over.

There has also been one new community outbreak at the Teck Resources Elkview and Fording River operations and a community cluster at Big White Ski Resort. The outbreaks at Cambridge and Newton Elementary schools are over.

Henry and Dix pointed out: “Today is a momentous day in our province with the start of our first COVID-19 vaccine clinics. With immunizations now underway, those who are most vulnerable to severe illness have one more layer of protection that will get stronger as each new person gets immunized.

“Even as we look to brighter days ahead, we must remember that the pandemic is far from over. This is why, as we enter this next stage, using our layers of protection and following all of the public health orders is more important than ever.

“No one wants to experience the tragedy of losing a loved one when this day of hope is upon us. So let’s make December 15 a day for doing all we can to protect our communities and the people we care for most.”