COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 742 cases over long weekend as seven-day average nears 200
British Columbia recorded another 742 cases of COVID-19 and one related death over the long weekend, health officials said Tuesday.
The latest numbers from the Ministry of Health pushed the province's rolling seven-day average for new infections to 196, up from 35 in early July. The last time B.C.'s average topped 200 cases per day was on June 5.
The average has already far surpassed the heights of the province's first wave of the pandemic, but remains far below the peak average of 1,130 daily cases recorded during the third wave in April.
Officials said 160 infections were identified from Friday to Saturday, followed by 196 from Saturday to Sunday, 185 from Sunday to Monday, and 201 from Monday to Tuesday.
Of the total, 395 cases came from B.C.'s Interior Health region, which has been experiencing a unique surge in COVID-19 transmission. The increase recently prompted officials to declare an outbreak in the Central Okanagan and re-impose a local mask mandate.
B.C.'s active caseload increased to 1,544 on Tuesday, which is up more than 300 from the end of last week and the highest that figure has been since June 13. The majority of those – 847 cases – are in Interior Health, compared to 348 in Fraser Health and 212 in Vancouver Coastal Health.
Only 42 and 24 of the active cases are in the Island Health and Northern Health regions, respectively.
The number of coronavirus patients in hospital also increased to 53, including 19 in intensive care.
Meanwhile, another 128,063 shots of COVID-19 vaccine were administered over the B.C. Day long weekend, the vast majority going to second doses.
The Ministry of Health said 81.4 per cent of eligible residents age 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine, up just 0.3 percentage points from Friday. The number who have received both shots increased to 67.3 per cent, up from 64.9 per cent.
A total of 6,902,320 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have been given out across B.C. so far, 3,121,311 of which have been second doses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.