B.C. adds 753 new COVID-19 cases; Omicron count triples again

B.C. added 753 new cases of COVID-19 to its total on Thursday, the highest daily increase since late October.

The latest cases bring B.C.'s rolling seven-day average for new cases to 489, the highest it's been since mid-November.

The province also added three more deaths on Thursday, according to a written statement from the Ministry of Health.

Since the pandemic began, B.C. has seen 224,998 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 2,396 deaths.

There are currently 3,878 active cases of the coronavirus in the province. That total includes 184 infectious patients in hospital, 70 of whom are in intensive care units.

The sharp uptick in infections in B.C. in recent days comes as governments across Canada and around the world grapple with the concerning new Omicron variant.

In Thursday's update, the ministry said there are now 135 confirmed Omicron cases in B.C., more than triple the 44 that had been confirmed as of Tuesday.

Concerns about the new variant prompted the federal government to issue an advisory against international travel on Wednesday, and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix encouraged residents to use similar caution when considering domestic travel. 

B.C. health officials have not announced any new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of Omicron, but they have since hinted that changes may be on the way. 

More than half of the confirmed Omicron cases in B.C. as of Thursday were on Vancouver Island, where an outbreak at the University of Victoria has been driving caseloads higher in recent weeks. 

There were 71 confirmed Omicron infections in Island Health as of Thursday. Fraser Health had the next highest total with 38. Vancouver Coastal Health had 20, Interior Health had five and Northern Health had one.

In terms of overall cases, Vancouver Coastal Health led the way in Thursday's update, with 240.

Fraser Health saw 232 new infections confirmed, Island Health 137, Interior Health 99 and Northern Health 45.

The three deaths reported Thursday happened in Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and Island Health, respectively.

Earlier this week, people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 began outnumbering people who are unvaccinated in the province's count of recent infections for the first time.

For months, the unvaccinated had accounted for the majority of new cases detected in B.C., despite constituting less than one-fifth of the province's population.

From Dec. 8 to 14, people who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine accounted for 53.7 per cent of new cases confirmed in B.C., while those who have received zero shots accounted for 44.2 per cent.

The unvaccinated are still overrepresented in B.C.'s COVID-19 caseload relative to their proportion of the population.

They also continue to account for most hospitalizations in the province. Between Dec. 1 and 14, 66.2 per cent of newly hospitalized COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated.

As of Thursday, 86.8 per cent of eligible people ages five and older had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C., and 82.5 per cent had received two shots. Roughly 14 per cent of people ages 12 and older have received a third vaccine dose.