Final COVID-19 update of the week includes 13 deaths in just 24 hours in B.C.
B.C. is reporting 667 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 new deaths.
The numbers, which cover the last 24-hour period, came Friday afternoon in a statement from the Ministry of Health, in what is expected to be the last case update of the week.
Friday's cases bring the rolling average down to 563, from 574 on Thursday. It's the seventh straight day that the average has declined. The last time it rose was when it hit 671 on Oct. 8, a slight increase from 667 the day before.
Two of the deaths were in the Interior Health region and the other 11 were in Fraser Health.
The province also reported one new COVID-19 outbreak at a health-care facility. That outbreak, at GR Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel, is in the province’s Northern Health region. The rural region is seeing high COVID-19 case spread and its intensive care units have been overwhelmed.
One COVID-19 outbreak, at Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre in Fraser Health authority, was declared over. There are 19 other active outbreaks in health-care settings, according to the ministry.
The new cases means there are now 5,128 active cases of COVID-19. Of the active cases, 367 people are in hospital, 152 of whom are in intensive care. The number of people in B.C. who have recovered from COVID-19 is now 188,851.
As of Friday, 89 per cent of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose, the same percentage reported on Thursday. Despite the fact that the percentage remains the same, an additional 3,314 people received their first dose of the vaccine over the one-day period – it just wasn’t enough to bump the percentage count up. And, 83.7 per cent of eligible residents have received two doses, an increase from 82.9 per cent on Thursday.
Of the new cases, 246 are in Fraser Health, 184 are in Northern Health, 75 in Vancouver Coastal Health, and 59 in Island Health, and 101 in Interior Health.
Notably, however, Fraser Health has more than six times the population of Northern Health, meaning the northern region added far more cases per capita than Fraser Health – or the province’s other three health regions.
To address the spread of COVID-19 in Northern Health, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced new restrictions on Thursday as the region’s hospitals were overwhelmed.
As of Friday, personal gatherings – whether indoor or outdoor – are restricted to fully vaccinated people in parts of Northern B.C.
"If you are unvaccinated or have unvaccinated people in your households, then you need to stay with your household only," Henry said when speaking to the Northern Health measures.
Correction
A previous version of this story said 11 deaths were recorded in Interior Health when it was in fact two, according to provincial data.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'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.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.