For the fourth day in a row, B.C.'s number of COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit highs not seen since May.
There are now 436 COVID-19 patients in B.C. hospitals, with 156 of those fighting for their lives in intensive care units (ICUs).
Another nine people succumbed to the disease overnight, raising the province's pandemic death toll to 2,156.
The deaths included:
• three in Fraser Health;
• two in Vancouver Coastal Health;
• two in Island Health; and
• two in Northern Health.
The 584 new infections detected in the past day lift the total number of known cases in the province since the first case was confirmed on January 28, 2020, to 204,914. Of those, 96.3% are deemed by the province to have recovered. In most cases, that diagnosis is because the patients have gone more than 10 days after first feeling symptoms, and are therefore considered to be not infectious.
The vast majority of the 4,982 people known to be actively battling infections have been told to self-isolate at home.
One thing the province is doing to try to limit new infections is to extend the provincial mandate that people wear masks when in indoor public spaces, such as retail stores and on public transit.
"This important layer of protection will help make all of us safer, along with practising hand hygiene regularly, staying away if sick and, most importantly, getting fully vaccinated," B.C. provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said in a news release.
Most British Columbians are already fully vaccinated, and it is the small number of unvaccinated people who are driving the pandemic forward.
Health Minister Adrian Dix tweeted out some statistics that show 131, or 84%, of the 156 people in intensive care units are unvaccinated. Another four, or 2.6%, are partially vaccinated with one dose of vaccine, while 21 people, or 13.5%, are fully vaccinated.
No fully vaccinated person aged younger than 50 years is in an ICU, while 39 people who are younger than 50 years and who are not fully vaccinated are in ICUs across B.C.
Other statistics have for months similarly underscored that unvaccinated people are overwhelmingly the ones that are causing the province's fourth wave of the pandemic to be as vibrant as it is, and that getting vaccinated is a good way to protect against sickness and death.
Health officials administered initial vaccine doses to 2,792 British Columbians in the past day, as well as second doses of vaccine to 6,967 B.C. residents.
Across B.C., 89.8% of eligible people older than 12 have had at least one dose of vaccine, with 85% of eligible people having had two doses, according to the B.C. government.
Of the 4,163,572 B.C. residents who have received one dose of vaccine since mid-December, 2020, 94.6%, or 3,940,563, are considered fully vaccinated, with two doses. Earlier this week, the government said 90,425 British Columbians had received third doses of vaccine. No update to that number was provided today.
Glacier Media broke down the 584 new infections by health region, for each 10,000 residents (with total new cases in brackets).
• 1.3 in Fraser Health (232);
• 0.6 in Vancouver Coastal Health (81);
• 1.1 in Interior Health (85);
• 3.5 in Northern Health (104); and
• 1 in Island Health (82).
There were no new infections among people who normally do not reside in Canada.
The result by health region, for the 4,982 people fighting active infections, for each 10,000 residents (with total new cases in brackets) is:
• 11.8 in Fraser Health (2,115);
• 5.6 in Vancouver Coastal Health (704);
• 9.2 in Interior Health (684);
• 27.2 in Northern Health (817); and
• 7.1 in Island Health (603).
There remain 59 active infections in the province in people who normally reside outside B.C.
No new health-care facility outbreaks have been reported, and none have newly been declared over. That leaves B.C. with 33 active outbreaks in those acute-care settings and seniors' homes. •
