COVID-19 in B.C.: 87 new cases as province hits 5 days below 100
B.C. health officials announced 87 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive day the province's daily count has stayed below 100.
In a written statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix also announced one death related to the coronavirus.
"Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19," Henry and Dix said in their statement.
Currently, there are 1,119 active cases of the coronavirus in B.C. That total includes 109 people who are hospitalized, 41 of them in intensive care.
Since the pandemic began, B.C. has seen 147,271 total infections and 1,744 deaths from COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, 75.8 per cent of B.C. residents ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Among adults 18 and older, the first-dose rate is 77.2 per cent.
The province has administered 4,570,153 total vaccine doses, including 1,051,910 second doses. That means 24.3 per cent of adults in B.C. are now fully vaccinated, as are 22.7 per cent of those ages 12 and older.
“We are progressing well, and we need to keep going," Henry and Dix said. "For every person who gets vaccinated, it will allow us to gradually transition and safely reopen many things that have been on hold."
The pair also cautioned that the coronavirus continues to circulate, even as daily caseloads continue to drop.
"We still have new cases from community transmission every day," they said. "That is why, whether you live in the North, on the Coast or in the Interior, we strongly encourage everyone to get fully vaccinated as soon as you are eligible."
The largest share of the new cases recorded Wednesday was found not in the Fraser Health region, which has seen the highest rates of transmission in B.C. for most of the pandemic, but in Interior Health.
There were 41 new cases in Interior Health Wednesday, compared to 30 in Fraser Health, 13 in Vancouver Coastal Health, three in Island Health and none in Northern Health.
TWO NEW CARE HOME OUTBREAKS
Dix and Henry also announced two new outbreaks of COVID-19, at Hollyburn House long-term care home in West Vancouver and at Minoru Residence in Richmond.
In separate releases earlier in the day, Vancouver Coastal Health said two people at each facility had tested positive.
Minoru Residence was the site of a deadly outbreak of the coronavirus during B.C.'s second wave. Seventy-seven people at the facility tested positive during the outbreak, which began on Dec. 21. Sixty-six of those infected were residents, and 17 of them died.
The outbreak at Hollyburn House is also the facility's second. The care home was among the first in B.C. to record a COVID-19 case back in March 2020. Only one person - a resident - tested positive in that outbreak, according to data from the provincial government. No one died.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
NEW 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire': A crowd pleaser that turns it up to 11
Hot on the heels of last year's 'Godzilla Minus One' comes 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,' the first ever Academy Award winner in the giant reptile's decades-long film career.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.