COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 641 cases as average tops 600 per day

Vancouver -

Another 641 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in B.C., pushing the province's rolling average above 600 per day for the first time in months.

The numbers were provided by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday afternoon, hours after officials announced the return of a province-wide mask mandate for indoor public spaces.

The update increased B.C.'s seven-day average for coronavirus infections to 608. The last time the average topped 600 was on May 12, when it stood at 613 cases per day.

The province's COVID-19 death toll remains at 1,801, the same place it was left after officials announced an alarming 16 coronavirus-related fatalities on Monday. Those deaths were reported between Friday afternoon and Monday afternoon, and included some deaths that occurred in early August.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased to 138, while the number of patients in intensive care decreased to 78.

Just over 83 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the ministry's update, while about 75 per cent have had both shots.

A total of 7,351,471 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered across the province so far.

On top of the renewed mask requirement, B.C. officials announced a new vaccine passport this week intended to curb COVID-19 transmission in the province. Beginning on Sept. 13, residents and visitors will need to prove they've had at least one dose of vaccine to access some non-essential services and activities, including live sporting events.

By Oct. 24, both doses will be mandatory to gain entry.

The Interior Health region, where 273 of the latest 641 cases were recorded, is under a number of local COVID-19 restrictions as well due to surging infection numbers. Fourteen of the 16 deaths announced Monday were also recorded in the region.

As of this week, the B.C. government has also begun sharing regular updates on the number of breakthrough COVID-19 cases, though there is a delay in reporting.

For the week of Aug. 16 to 22, 4,091 people tested positive for COVID-19 across the province, including 70.2 per cent who were unvaccinated and 13.2 per cent who were only partially vaccinated. The other 680 cases were people who had received both shots.

When it comes to hospitalizations, the government said 77.7 per cent of the 139 COVID-19 patients registered between Aug. 9 and 22 were unvaccinated and 7.9 per cent were partially vaccinated. The remaining 20 patients were fully vaccinated.