COVID-19 in B.C.: 714 cases, 11 more deaths in final update of the week

Vancouver -

B.C. has added another 714 cases of COVID-19 to its total over the last 24 hours, and 11 more people have died from the disease, according to the provincial Ministry of Health.

There are now 6,317 active cases of the coronavirus in B.C. and 328 people are in hospital. Of those, 138 are in intensive care and still infectious.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 187,694 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in B.C., and 1,973 related deaths.

The latest numbers bring the provincial seven-day rolling average for new cases to 738, a slight decrease from where it stood on Thursday.

The seven-day rolling average for deaths is now up to 7.29 per day, the highest it's been since Feb. 16.

Friday's update included 274 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 205 in Interior Health, 106 in Northern Health, 73 in Vancouver Coastal Health and 56 in Island Health.

Six of the deaths reported Friday were in Interior Health, four were in Fraser Health and one was in Vancouver Coastal Health.

Earlier this week, health officials introduced new restrictions for the eastern part of Fraser Health, citing a rise in cases there, particularly in areas with lower-than-average vaccination rates. 

Interior Health and Northern Health, which have higher per-capita case rates than Fraser Health, have been under special COVID-19 restrictions for weeks.

As of Friday, 88 per cent of eligible B.C. residents ages 12 and older had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 81.1 per cent of that age group had received two doses.

People who are not fully vaccinated accounted for 71.3 per cent of all cases of COVID-19 in B.C. during the week of Sept. 23 to 29, according to the ministry. They accounted for more than 80 per cent of coronavirus-related hospitalizations between Sept. 15 and 29.

This is despite the fact that those who are not fully vaccinated - including children under age 12, who are currently ineligible for immunization - make up less than one-third of B.C.'s total population.