B.C. COVID-19 update: 185 new cases, 3 deaths, rolling average back over 100
B.C.'s rolling seven-day average for daily COVID-19 infections has risen over 100 for the first time since June.
The province's Ministry of Health announced 185 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the rolling average to 115.
The average is now the highest it's been since June 16, when it was 119. The 185 cases added to B.C.'s total Wednesday was the largest single-day increase in infections since June 5, when the province added 217 cases to its total.
Officials also announced three COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday.
The latest infections bring the total number of cases recorded in B.C. during the pandemic to 149,444. There have been 1,771 deaths.
The majority of new cases reported Wednesday were in the Interior Health region, where 113 new infections were recorded.
Interior Health has been experiencing a spike in cases in recent days, something health officials have attributed to young people who are not yet fully vaccinated, as well as lower overall vaccination rates in the region.
In response to the recent surge in infections, authorities announced Wednesday that they were re-introducing a mask mandate for indoor public spaces in the Central Okanagan region. They also declared a COVID-19 outbreak in that area, which includes the City of Kelowna and several surrounding communities.
Elsewhere in B.C., caseloads have been rising more gradually. Wednesday's update included 35 new cases in Fraser Health, 26 in Vancouver Coastal Health, eight in Island Health and two in Northern Health.
There has also been one new case recorded in a person who normally resides outside Canada, according to health officials.
As of Wednesday, there are 909 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 503 of them in Interior Health. Active cases were last over 900 on June 28, when there were 930.
Among those currently battling the virus in B.C., 47 are in hospital. Twenty of them are in intensive care units.
Just under 81 per cent of eligible people ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C., and 63.2 per cent of people in that age group have now received both doses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.