COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 742 cases over long weekend as seven-day average nears 200
British Columbia recorded another 742 cases of COVID-19 and one related death over the long weekend, health officials said Tuesday.
The latest numbers from the Ministry of Health pushed the province's rolling seven-day average for new infections to 196, up from 35 in early July. The last time B.C.'s average topped 200 cases per day was on June 5.
The average has already far surpassed the heights of the province's first wave of the pandemic, but remains far below the peak average of 1,130 daily cases recorded during the third wave in April.
Officials said 160 infections were identified from Friday to Saturday, followed by 196 from Saturday to Sunday, 185 from Sunday to Monday, and 201 from Monday to Tuesday.
Of the total, 395 cases came from B.C.'s Interior Health region, which has been experiencing a unique surge in COVID-19 transmission. The increase recently prompted officials to declare an outbreak in the Central Okanagan and re-impose a local mask mandate.
B.C.'s active caseload increased to 1,544 on Tuesday, which is up more than 300 from the end of last week and the highest that figure has been since June 13. The majority of those – 847 cases – are in Interior Health, compared to 348 in Fraser Health and 212 in Vancouver Coastal Health.
Only 42 and 24 of the active cases are in the Island Health and Northern Health regions, respectively.
The number of coronavirus patients in hospital also increased to 53, including 19 in intensive care.
Meanwhile, another 128,063 shots of COVID-19 vaccine were administered over the B.C. Day long weekend, the vast majority going to second doses.
The Ministry of Health said 81.4 per cent of eligible residents age 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine, up just 0.3 percentage points from Friday. The number who have received both shots increased to 67.3 per cent, up from 64.9 per cent.
A total of 6,902,320 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have been given out across B.C. so far, 3,121,311 of which have been second doses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.