PROVINCIAL Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix on Wednesday announced 87 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 147,271 cases in British Columbia.
There has been one new COVID-19-related death, for a total of 1,744 deaths in the province.
As of Wednesday, 77.2% of all adults in B.C. and 75.8% of those 12 and older had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 24.3% of all adults in B.C. and 22.7% of those 12 and older have received their second dose. In total, 4,570,153 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 1,051,910 of which are second doses.
Henry and Dix said: “Please note there are data corrections in both the total cases (removing three previously reported cases) and percentage immunized to correct some second doses that had been incorrectly classified as first doses.”
Of the new cases, 13 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 30 are in the Fraser Health region, three are in the Island Health region and 41 are in the Interior Health region. There are no new cases in the Northern Health region.
There are currently 1,119 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. A further 144,383 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 109 individuals are currently hospitalized, 41 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
There are two new health-care outbreaks at Minoru Residence and Hollyburn House (Vancouver Coastal).
Henry and Dix said: “Our vaccines are safe and highly effective. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca are all helping to significantly reduce the number of people getting seriously ill with COVID-19.
“While cases continue to come down, we still have new cases from community transmission every day. That is why, whether you live in the North, on the Coast or in the Interior, we strongly encourage everyone to get fully vaccinated as soon as you are eligible.
“When you get vaccinated, you will join 2.75 billion people worldwide who are also doing their part to protect their loved ones and communities.
“We are progressing well, and we need to keep going. For every person who gets vaccinated, it will allow us to gradually transition and safely reopen many things that have been on hold. Our approach in B.C. will continue to be a ‘dimmer switch’ instead of a ‘light switch’ approach.
“This is a time of optimism and renewal – a time to turn down your personal risk by getting vaccinated and to gradually turn up your social interactions as we start to put COVID-19 behind us.”