COVID-19 update: B.C. records 717 new cases, marking 3 days in a row with more than 500 new infections

Vancouver -

B.C. has recorded another 717 cases of COVID-19, marking the third day in a row surpassing 500 new infections and the highest number of daily cases since early May.

The update came in a written statement from the health ministry, which announced no additional deaths due to the coronavirus.

The latest cases, 11 of which were epidemiologically linked, brought active cases to 4,277. Of the active cases, 82 people are in hospital and 39 are in intensive care, which is a slight increase from Thursday.

The latest infections brought B.C.'s rolling seven-day average to 463, which is the highest its been since May 19. The last time the province topped 700 cases in a day was May 7, when 722 positive tests were recorded.

The province has been recording a surge in cases in recent weeks, leading officials to announce new measures like requiring vaccinations for all workers in long-term care homes. Those measures are meant to curb outbreaks in long-term care homes. As of Friday, there were 11 active outbreaks in long-term care or assisted living facilities.

Of Friday's cases, more than half (376) were in the Interior Health Region, which has been dealing with surge in recent weeks. Another 140 were in Fraser Health, while 101 were recorded in Vancouver Coastal Health. Sixty were counted in Northern Health, which had recorded just 13 cases on Thursday. The remaining 40 positive tests were recorded in the Island Health region.

While data wasn't provided about Friday's rates, health officials have previously said about 95 per cent of recent new infections are among unvaccinated people.

As of Friday, 82.4 per cent of eligible B.C. residents have received one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Seventy-two per cent are fully vaccinated.

Since December, 7,164,020 vaccine doses have been administered in the province.