COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 183 cases, 1 death in final update of the week
A used protective face mask is seen discarded on the ground in Vancouver in May 2020. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Vancouver -
Health officials in B.C. announced 183 new cases of COVID-19 and one related death Friday in their final update of the week.
The province has now recorded a total of 145,049 infections and 1,710 related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
"Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19," provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint written statement.
Friday's update marks the fourth consecutive day that B.C. has announced fewer than 200 cases. The province's seven-day average has fallen to 210 cases per day, which is down from an all-time high of 1,130 in April and the lowest the average has been since Oct. 23.
B.C.'s active caseload dropped to 2,453, the lowest it's been since Oct. 30, while hospitalizations related to COVID-19 remained at 224. The number of patients in intensive care decreased slightly to 59.
The declining case numbers allowed health officials to relax several of the province's COVID-19 restrictions last week, and more could be eased as soon as June 15 – but only if transmission continues to slow down.
Henry and Dix said that getting more people fully vaccinated with both doses will help ensure that happens.
"This is what will help us control the spread of the virus in our communities," they said. “Let’s make registering and booking our dose one and two appointments a priority, so we can safely and confidently move forward to the brighter days ahead."
The province has administered a total of 3,488,884 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines, including enough first doses to cover just over 72 per cent of adults across B.C. Only 256,725 of the shots have been second doses.
Of all the COVID-19 cases identified so far in the province, 140,835 – or 97 per cent – have recovered.
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