COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 379 cases, 6 deaths as hospitalizations fall

Another 379 cases of COVID-19 and six related deaths have been recorded in British Columbia, the government announced Wednesday along with another drop in coronavirus hospitalizations.

There have now been 221,235 COVID-19 infections and 2,369 related deaths confirmed across the province since the start of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Health.

B.C.'s seven-day average for new cases, which recently levelled off after declining for weeks, remained at 347 per day after Wednesday's update. The seven-day average for COVID-19 deaths also remained at about four per day.

But the number of infectious coronavirus patients in hospital decreased to 224, which is a new three-month low and represents a 20 per cent drop from one week ago. The number of those patients in intensive care also fell to 77, down from 82 on Tuesday.

So far, 85.8 per cent of eligible B.C. residents age five and up have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 82.1 per cent have received at least two. More than 39,000 children between the ages of five and 11 have received a shot since becoming eligible last month.

The province has also given out tens of thousands of third doses so far to combat waning immunity and increase protection for vulnerable groups.

Earlier on Wednesday, there was encouraging news from Pfizer, which said that laboratory tests have found three doses are capable of neutralizing the concerning new Omicron variant.

Unvaccinated B.C. residents still make up more than half of the province's COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, despite representing less than 18 per cent of the population, including babies, toddlers and children who are too young for any of the approved vaccines.

The unvaccinated account for 55.3 per cent of cases recorded from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, and 64.5 per cent of hospitalizations from Nov. 23 to Dec. 6, according to the Ministry of Health.