B.C. adds 706 cases, 4 deaths in latest COVID-19 update
B.C.'s Ministry of Health announced 706 additional cases of COVID-19 and four related deaths on Thursday.
There have now been 177,186 confirmed cases and 1,877 deaths since the pandemic began.
Most new infections continue to be found in people who are not yet fully vaccinated. Between Sept. 8 and 14, 68.1 per cent of the 3,347 new coronavirus cases were among unvaccinated people, according to the ministry.
This is despite the fact that those who are unvaccinated - including children under age 12 who are not eligible - make up only about a quarter of the province's total population.
Among those who are eligible, 86.3 per cent had received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, and 78.8 per cent had received both shots.
Thursday's update brings B.C.'s rolling seven-day average for new cases back below 700 for the first time since last week. The average stands at 693, down from 702 on Wednesday.
There are 5,844 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, a total that includes 291 people who are fighting the disease in hospital. Among the hospitalized, 134 are in intensive care.
Of the 390 coronavirus-related hospitalizations B.C. saw between Sept. 1 and 14, 81.5 per cent were people who are unvaccinated. Only 13.6 were fully vaccinated. The remaining 4.9 per cent were partially vaccinated, a number that likely reflects their small proportion of the population relative to the fully vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.
On Twitter, Health Minister Adrian Dix shared a breakdown of the vaccination status of people who are in intensive care, saying 93 per cent are not fully vaccinated.
Most of the new cases reported Thursday were in the Fraser Health and Interior Health regions, which saw 203 and 213 infections, respectively.
Elsewhere, Vancouver Coastal Health added 105 new cases on Thursday, Northern Health added 104, and Island Health added 81.
For context, though Fraser Health and Interior Health have seen similar numbers of new cases in recent weeks, Fraser Health has more than twice as many residents as Interior Health, meaning it has seen significantly fewer cases on a per-capita basis.
Similarly, though Vancouver Coastal Health and Northern Health saw similar raw numbers of cases on Thursday, the former has nearly 1.2 million residents, compared to the latter's 284,000.
Three of the four deaths announced Thursday were in Fraser Health, while the fourth was in Northern Health.
The health ministry also announced one new outbreak at Menno Terrace East, an assisted-living facility in Abbotsford. Fraser Health said Wednesday that two residents there had tested positive for COVID-19.
Two other outbreaks - at Nicola Meadows in Merritt and Rose Wood Village in Trail - have ended, leaving B.C. with 23 active outbreaks in its health-care system, according to the ministry.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.