B.C.’s new COVID-19 case numbers remain elevated over the Christmas holiday weekend, hitting another new daily high on Saturday before tailing off slightly for the last two days.
According to provincial numbers, Saturday saw 2,552 new COVID cases – up another 111 cases from Friday’s figure of 2,441. Those numbers were then followed by a small dip Sunday (2,023 cases) and Monday (1,713) to round out the three-day period.
Those numbers – fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant now sweeping the world – bring B.C.’s total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started in March 2020 to 241,946. The province did not provide an updated active case number or death toll from the pandemic on Monday.
Overall, the 6,288 new COVID cases reported in B.C. over the last three days remain concentrated in two regions: Fraser Health (3,181 cases) and Vancouver Coastal Health (1,713). Meanwhile, Island Health (737 cases) and Interior Health (713) remain at elevated levels, while Northern Health reported 174 cases during the same period.
During the last week, the province has been mired in the worst COVID spike since the pandemic started – with daily new cases breaking 1,000 and 2,000 respectively within days of each other. This was after new cases numbers fell to below 300 in late November – with previous spikes causing numbers of 1,000-plus cases only a handful of times around April earlier this year.
The province is currently under stricter gathering guidelines, with bars, clubs and gyms closed until at least mid-January while any type of larger gatherings (weddings, funerals, etc.) is prohibited. Provincial health authorities also urged only those with symptoms to go to COVID testing sites, as the recent wave has caused long delays at various locations.
