COVID-19 update: B.C. records 8 new deaths over 72 hours

An ambulance drives past the emergency entrance of Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, April 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

British Columbia recorded another eight deaths related to COVID-19 over the weekend, the government announced Monday along with another drop in hospitalizations.

Fraser Health reported four of the latest deaths, Island Health reported two, and Vancouver Coastal Health and Northern Health reported one each.

The number of test-positive patients in hospital also decreased to a two-month low of 271, down from 290 on Friday. The number of patients in intensive care increased slightly to 49 over the same period.

B.C.'s hospitalization total includes patients who were admitted for reasons unrelated to COVID-19 but tested positive on routine screening, as well as other so-called incidental cases.

A new outbreak was declared at Selkirk Seniors Village, bringing the number of active outbreaks in health-care settings to eight. A resurgence of outbreaks in care homes and hospitals was impacting upwards of 50 facilities at a time earlier this year.

The Ministry of Health also announced a total of 506 confirmed COVID-19 cases from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon, which pushed the province's seven-day average down to 202 per day.

While daily case numbers only track positive lab tests, which are not available to most people with coronavirus symptoms, they line up with other indictors that suggest transmission is decreasing.

It's unclear whether health officials' decision to relax or lift several COVID-19 restrictions, including the indoor mask mandate, will have an impact on case and hospitalizations numbers.

So far, 90.8 per cent of eligible B.C. residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 87 per cent have had two. Nearly 59 per cent of eligible adults have also received a third shot.