DR. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, on Wednesday announced 640 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 44,103 cases in British Columbia.

Sadly, there have been 24 new COVID-19-related deaths, and the total number of deaths in the province now stands at 692.

There are 9,950 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 362 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, 91 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Currently, 10,538 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and a further 32,376 people who tested positive have recovered.

There have been 98 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 399 new cases in the Fraser Health region, five in the Island Health region, 91 in the Interior Health region, 47 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

Henry and Dix said: “Yesterday, 409 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were given to B.C. front-line health-care workers. Starting next week, the province will receive weekly vaccine deliveries for clinics in every health region throughout the province. Specific timing will be provided once confirmed.”

There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Sunrise of Vancouver. The outbreaks at Sun Pointe Village, Gateway Lodge and the University Hospital of Northern BC are over. There have been no new community outbreaks.

Henry and Dix added: “We can all be a part of B.C.’s COVID-19 response team – the team that is pulling together and making a difference through this difficult time. Our team is made of hundreds of thousands of people throughout B.C. who are doing their part – at work, at school and at home.

“Let’s ensure we are using our layers of protection and following all of the public health orders, which is more important than ever right now, especially during the holiday season.

“Many people have already made the commitment to make their holiday celebrations safe celebrations – by staying small and connecting virtually instead. There are countless creative ways for us to have those important connections and also protect our communities and the people we care for most. Let’s continue to do our part and break the chain of transmission in B.C.”