COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 123 cases over the weekend as average continues to climb

File image: A syringe is loaded with COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Richmond, B.C., on Saturday, April 10, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

Vancouver -

British Columbia recorded another 123 cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, as the province's seven-day average continued to inch upward.

There have been 148,154 coronavirus infections identified across B.C. since the start of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health said in a news release Monday.

The latest cases pushed the province's rolling weekly average to 47 per day, which is an increase of 12 from one week ago.

Prior to last week, the average plummeted for months after peaking at a record high of 1,130 per day back in April.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry previously noted that B.C. was likely to experience a slight uptick in cases after the province relaxed many of its COVID-19 rules and restrictions.

Meanwhile, B.C.'s active caseload and number of COVID-19 hospitalizations both declined over the weekend. Active cases decreased to 658 from 661, while hospitalizations decreased to 66 from 73.

There were also no coronavirus-related deaths recorded over the weekend, leaving the province's death toll at 1,760.

Another 175,708 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered from Friday afternoon through Monday afternoon, the vast majority of them going to second shots.

A total of 5,741,691 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have been given out across B.C. so far, including enough first shots to cover about 79 per cent of the eligible population. Nearly 45 per cent of those eligible have received both doses.

There are still three active COVID-19 outbreaks in health-care settings – at Laurel Place at Surrey Memorial, Eagle Ridge Hospital and Royal Inland Hospital – but none at long-term care homes or assisted living facilities.