Hours after extending COVID-19 restrictions, B.C. health officials are announcing another 471 cases of the virus and six more deaths.
There were 56 cases in Interior Health, with 208 new cases in Fraser Health, 108 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 71 in Northern Health, and 28 on Vancouver Island.
Three of the deaths were in Interior Health, taking the total to 78 people. The active case count in Interior Health is down to 975 with 53 people in hospital, 19 in ICU.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the loved ones and caregivers of the three additional COVID-related deaths Interior Health is reporting today,” IHA President and CEO Susan Brown said in a statement. “COVID-19 continues to circulate in Interior Health communities, large and small, and we urge everyone to remain vigilant in order to reduce the risk of transmission and illness across our region.”
There were two more cases of COVID-19 at Royal Inland Hospital with no new cases at the Westsyde Care Residences or at the Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre.
Active cases across the province are down slightly to 4,423, with 253 people in hospital, 70 of whom are in intensive care. A further 6,886 people are being actively monitored by public health teams as a result of an identified exposure to known cases.
“There are some encouraging signs that the efforts of people throughout our province are working. By spending less time with others, by staying local and using our layers of protection, we are flattening our curve,” Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
“Between now and the end of the month, we will be continually reconsidering the need for the restrictions based on incidence and prevalence of the virus, new information about transmission, especially understanding the impact of variants, and the progress of vaccine supply and our immunization program.”
There been been 149,564 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine administered in the province, 10,366 of which are second doses.
Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix are again reminding people to avoid social gatherings with people outside their household especially with events like the Super Bowl, Lunar New Year, Family Day, and Valentine’s Day coming up.
“We want to get to the days of fewer restrictions. As we look to the months ahead, the data will tell us if more action is required or if we can start to ease the restrictions early,” Henry said.
“We want a smooth, flat path to the finish with few, if any, hurdles of outbreaks or unchecked transmission in our community. We are not quite there yet, but we are getting closer every day.”
A total of 62,567 people who are considered to have recovered from COVID-19, about 89 per cent of the total 69,716 cases in British Columbia
