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COVID-19 in B.C.: 785 new cases, 2 more deaths

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B.C. added 785 new COVID-19 infections to its total on Wednesday, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control's coronavirus dashboard.

There have now been 166,853 cases of COVID-19 in B.C. since the pandemic began, as well as 1,818 related deaths.

The death toll has increased by two since Tuesday.

The latest numbers bring B.C.'s seven-day rolling average for new cases to 698, up from 685 on Tuesday. The seven-day rolling average for deaths is 2.29.

A total of 199 people are hospitalized, and 112 of those are in intensive care units, according to the BCCDC.

There are 5,873 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., according to the dashboard. That's a notable decrease from the 6,045 that were considered active as of Tuesday.

The decrease is attributable to 959 recoveries over the last 24 hours. A total of 158,900 people who have had the coronavirus in B.C. are considered recovered.

Wednesday's numbers come after a modelling presentation from the province's top doctor on Tuesday showed B.C. approaching record levels of COVID-19 infections by the end of September under a "moderate transmission" scenario. 

They also came as an estimated 2,000 people rallied against vaccine mandates outside Vancouver General Hospital Wednesday afternoon. 

As of Wednesday, 84.5 per cent of eligible people ages 12 and older in B.C. have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health. Among the same age group, 76.7 per cent have received their second dose.

Over the last week, the vast majority of cases have been among those who are not yet fully vaccinated.

According to the ministry, 69.5 per cent of the 4,783 infections recorded from Aug. 24 to 30 were found in people who are unvaccinated. Another 10.5 per cent were among those who are partially vaccinated, while fully vaccinated British Columbians accounted for 20 per cent of cases.

Cases among unvaccinated people outnumbered those among the vaccinated, despite the fact that those who are fully vaccinated make up roughly two thirds of the total provincial population.

Looking at the number of infections per 100,000 people in each category, the difference in case rates becomes even more pronounced.

From Aug. 24 to 30, B.C. saw 215.2 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 unvaccinated people, compared to just 29.4 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated people.

According to the ministry, 266 of the new cases reported Wednesday were found in the Interior Health region. Another 246 were found in Fraser Health, 110 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 94 in Northern Health and 69 in Island Health.

The ministry also announced a new outbreak of COVID-19 at the Arbutus Care Centre in Vancouver. The outbreak at Kootenay Street Village in Cranbrook is now over, leaving the province with 19 active outbreaks in its health-care system.

 

 

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