COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 204 cases in highest single-day increase since June 5
The surge in COVID-19 cases in B.C.'s Interior that has prompted new restrictions for Kelowna and surrounding communities continued Thursday, with health officials announcing 204 new infections in the province, 107 of them in the Interior Health region.
Other regions of B.C. recorded fewer new cases Thursday, with 58 in Fraser Health, 23 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 14 in Island Health and two in Northern Health.
The 204 cases added Thursday represent the largest single-day jump since June 5, when B.C. added 217 new infections to its total.
The latest numbers bring the province's rolling seven-day average for new cases to 131, the highest it's been since June 13.
There are currently 1,055 active cases of the COVID-19 in B.C., including 51 people who are hospitalized, 20 of them in intensive care.
The last time B.C.'s active caseload topped 1,000 was more than a month ago, on June 26.
There were no new deaths related to COVID-19 over the last 24 hours.
Since the pandemic began, B.C. has seen 149,648 cases of the disease and 1,771 deaths, overall.
Though case counts have been rising across the province in recent days, Interior Health has seen the bulk of new infections. As of Thursday, 600 of the province's active cases were located in the Interior.
As a result of the surge, authorities announced Wednesday that they were re-introducing a mask mandate for indoor public spaces in the Central Okanagan region. They also declared a COVID-19 outbreak in that area, which includes the City of Kelowna and several surrounding communities.
The local business community is pushing back against the province's handling of the new rules, saying that, although they support efforts to reduce caseloads, they were not given enough warning that new restrictions were coming.
Health officials have blamed the rising caseloads in the Interior on lower rates of immunization there, saying most of the people testing positive in the Kelowna area are young people who have had only a first dose of vaccine or are totally unvaccinated.
Province-wide, B.C. has now administered first shots of COVID-19 vaccines to 81 per cent of people ages 12 and older, and 64.1 per cent of that age group has now had a second shot, as well.
B.C. does not report cases by vaccination status on a daily basis, but officials announced earlier this week that fewer than five per cent of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the province between June 15 and July 15 had received both doses of vaccine.
The vast majority - 78 per cent - of infections during that period were among people who had not received either a first or a second dose.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.