VANCOUVER -- Health officials say hundreds more cases of COVID-19 were recorded in B.C. over the last 24 hours.
In a news release Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said 525 infections were confirmed since she spoke to the public Monday afternoon.
The latest update brings the total number of active cases in the province to 5,133, marking the first time B.C. has surpassed 5,000.
Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said three people also died in that period, bringing B.C.'s total death toll to 284.
There have been 19,239 cases confirmed by public health officials in B.C. since the start of the pandemic. About 71 per cent – 13,704 people – are considered to be recovered.
Hospitalizations, a number thought to be an indicator of the current severity of the disease, have been climbing recently, and reached 142 on Tuesday, up from 133 the day before.
Dix and Henry said 46 of those people are in intensive care, while the others are recovering at home.
Additionally, another 9,781 are under active health monitoring as of Tuesday's update. While they've not been confirmed to have COVID-19, those people have been exposed to known cases, the health ministry says.
As for where the latest cases are, of the 525 included in Tuesday's update, 92 per cent are in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
The majority of cases, 325, are in Fraser Health, while another 159 are in Vancouver Coastal Health.
Twenty-seven are in the Interior Health region. Just seven cases each were recorded in Northern and Island Health.
Additionally, Henry and Dix advised of two new health-care facility outbreaks, bringing the total active outbreak number to 39.
