B.C. COVID-19 update: 185 new cases, 3 deaths, rolling average back over 100
B.C.'s rolling seven-day average for daily COVID-19 infections has risen over 100 for the first time since June.
The province's Ministry of Health announced 185 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the rolling average to 115.
The average is now the highest it's been since June 16, when it was 119. The 185 cases added to B.C.'s total Wednesday was the largest single-day increase in infections since June 5, when the province added 217 cases to its total.
Officials also announced three COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday.
The latest infections bring the total number of cases recorded in B.C. during the pandemic to 149,444. There have been 1,771 deaths.
The majority of new cases reported Wednesday were in the Interior Health region, where 113 new infections were recorded.
Interior Health has been experiencing a spike in cases in recent days, something health officials have attributed to young people who are not yet fully vaccinated, as well as lower overall vaccination rates in the region.
In response to the recent surge in infections, 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.
Elsewhere in B.C., caseloads have been rising more gradually. Wednesday's update included 35 new cases in Fraser Health, 26 in Vancouver Coastal Health, eight in Island Health and two in Northern Health.
There has also been one new case recorded in a person who normally resides outside Canada, according to health officials.
As of Wednesday, there are 909 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 503 of them in Interior Health. Active cases were last over 900 on June 28, when there were 930.
Among those currently battling the virus in B.C., 47 are in hospital. Twenty of them are in intensive care units.
Just under 81 per cent of eligible people ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C., and 63.2 per cent of people in that age group have now received both doses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.