B.C. adds 9 deaths, dozens more hospitalizations in latest COVID-19 update
Nine more deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in B.C., and hospitalizations in the province have risen to another record high, the Ministry of Health announced Friday.
In the final pandemic update of the week, the ministry said 924 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C. That total includes 130 people who are in intensive care units.
The nine new deaths bring the pandemic death toll to 2,529, and push the seven-day rolling average for deaths in B.C. to 8.71 per day.
The last time the rolling average was that high was nearly a year ago, on Feb. 3, 2021.
Four of the latest deaths happened in Fraser Health, four in Vancouver Coastal Health and one in Island Health, according to the ministry.
The 924 hospitalizations reported Friday include both people whose COVID-19 infections are serious enough to require hospital care and people who were admitted to hospital for other reasons and tested positive during routine screening.
Some of those in hospital have contracted COVID-19 as part of an acute care outbreak, of which there were 10 across the province as of Friday.
Five new outbreaks in care homes were added to the provincial total, and one outbreak was declared over, leaving B.C. with a total of 62 active outbreaks in its health-care system.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has called the province's current method for calculating COVID-19 hospitalizations "an overestimate," but one that still helps illustrate the impact of the coronavirus on the province's health-care system.
Henry said during a news conference Friday that B.C.'s promised "deep dive" on hospitalizations is being used to guide officials as they look for what they can do to prevent severe illness in the province.
Friday's update also reported 2,364 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C., a number that is no longer considered particularly indicative of the spread of the disease in the province.
B.C.'s testing system reached its capacity earlier on in the Omicron wave, prompting the province to recommend against testing for otherwise healthy people under the age of 65.
There are currently 33,997 test-confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in the province, but the true number is likely several times higher than that.
As of Friday, 89.4 per cent of eligible people ages five and older in the province have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 83.5 per cent have received a second dose.
Booster shots have been administered to 37.8 per cent of people ages 12 and older, or 40.5 per cent of adults.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.