COVID-19 update: B.C. reports 970 cases, 11 deaths over 72 hours
British Columbia recorded another 970 cases of COVID-19 and 11 related deaths over the weekend, as the province's seven-day average for infections continued its downward trajectory.
The latest numbers, released Monday by the Ministry of Health, pushed the weekly average down to 340 cases per day, the lowest it's been since Aug. 8.
B.C.'s active case count also fell to 2,827, marking the first time it's dropped below 3,000 in three months.
The number of infectious COVID-19 patients in hospital increased slightly to 303, while the number in intensive care remains static at 115.
The update was delivered as B.C. began vaccinating children between the ages of five and 11 against COVID-19. While some parents have been apprehensive about vaccinating their young children, officials noted some three million kids in the U.S. have already received the same vaccine, which was developed with them in mind, and there have been no "safety signals" as a result.
Other parents have been anxious to get their children vaccinated as quickly as possible, particularly in the face of faster-spreading variants such as Delta, which has been blamed for an increase in the size of COVID-19 clusters in schools.
Unvaccinated children under the age of 12 have made up about 20 per cent of B.C.'s recent COVID-19 cases, despite representing approximately 10 per cent of the population.
There are about 350,000 B.C. children between the ages of five and 11. More than 108,000 were registered for vaccination by Monday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Health, which estimated that 50,000 appointments would be booked by the end of the day.
Just over 91 per cent of British Columbians 12 and older have already received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly 89 per cent have received two.
The push for immunization has also taken new urgency in recent days as countries brace for the potential impact of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, several cases of which have now been confirmed in Canada.
Experts have cautioned the variant has an unusually high number of mutations, though the impact they will have on transmissibility, severity of illness and vaccine resistance have yet to be determined.
Correction
Correction: A previous version of this story reported B.C.'s seven-day average had fallen to 304 cases per day instead of 340. CTV News regrets the typo.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.