COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 430 cases as average reaches 11-week low

Avalynn Kwok, 4, puts on her face mask to curb the spread of COVID-19 as her parents drop her off at Lynn Valley Elementary School for her first day of kindergarten, in North Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver -

Another 430 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in British Columbia, pushing the province's seven-day average to an 11-week low.

Wednesday's update, provided in a written statement from the Ministry of Health, leaves B.C.'s case average at 507 per day. The last time it was that low was Aug. 15, when the average was 490 per day.

The latest data from the government's COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard shows case numbers declining across most of the province, with a few notable exceptions, including the Central Coast and Vancouver Island West local health areas.

The ministry also announced six coronavirus-related deaths, leaving the province's seven-day average for COVID-19 fatalities unchanged at 7.86 per day.

The government could not provide an updated number of overall hospitalizations, citing a "data error," but said there remain 137 infectious COVID-19 patients in intensive care.

The vast majority of those patients – 116, or 85 per cent – are unvaccinated.

Vaccine holdouts have consistently been over-represented in B.C.'s COVID-19 case numbers. They continue to make up the majority of infections, hospitalizations and ICU visits, despite representing less than 20 per cent of the provincial population, including those who are too young to be eligible for vaccination.

The unvaccinated accounted for 59.1 per cent of the 3,732 coronavirus infections recorded across B.C. from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, and 65.9 per cent of the 449 hospitalizations recorded between Oct. 19 and Nov. 1.

As of Wednesday, 90.1 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 85.5 per cent have received two.

The government is now offering third doses and booster shots to some at-risk health-care workers and vulnerable groups who could have waning protection for a variety of reasons. Third doses are also being made available to the general public in the new year.

Northern Health, which has trailed the rest of the province's health authorities in vaccination rates, once again recorded the highest number of cases per capita on Wednesday. B.C.'s latest cases were distributed as follows:

• Northern Health – 37 cases, a rate of 12.2 cases per 100,000 population
• Interior Health – 88 cases, a rate of 10.7 cases per 100,000 population
• Fraser Health – 202 cases, a rate of 10.3 cases per 100,000 population
• Island Health – 47 cases, a rate of 5.4 cases per 100,000 population
• Vancouver Coastal Health – 56 cases, a rate of 4.5 per 100,000 population

Another 740 people have recovered from COVID-19 as well, according to the ministry, leaving the province's active caseload at 4,373, the lowest it's been since Aug. 13.

The government announced one new outbreak at Hallmark on the Park, an assisted living facility in Abbotsford. Two others, at Heritage Village and Magnolia Gardens, have ended, leaving the province with 40 active outbreaks across its health-care system.