B.C. COVID-19 update: 341 new cases, 6 deaths in last 24 hours
British Columbia has added 341 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, as well as six related deaths.
The latest numbers from the provincial Ministry of Health leave the province with 3,035 active coronavirus infections. Of those, 291 people are in hospital, 115 of them in intensive care units.
B.C.'s rolling seven-day average for new cases has dropped to 352, which is the lowest it has been since Aug. 8.
Since the pandemic began, B.C. has seen 217,099 total cases and 2,322 deaths.
Friday's new infections were spread across the province, with 100 cases confirmed in Fraser Health, 77 in Interior Health, 68 in Island Health, 65 in Vancouver Coastal Health and 31 in Northern Health.
Accounting for population, however, Fraser Health had the fewest cases per capita, while Northern Health - narrowly - had the most.
Fraser Health added 5.2 cases per 100,000 residents, while Northern Health added roughly twice as many, with 10.3 per 100,000.
Interior Health added 9.4 new cases per 100,000, Island Health added 7.9, and Vancouver Coastal Health added 5.3.
Northern Health's total, while still the highest per capita in B.C., has declined considerably in recent weeks.
One month ago, on Oct. 26, Northern Health's rolling seven-day average for daily new cases stood at 115, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. That equates to 38.3 cases per 100,000 residents - more than triple the per-capita number added Friday.
Three of the six new deaths occurred in Fraser Health, two were in Vancouver Coastal Health and one was in Northern Health.
There have been no new outbreaks at health-care facilities, and two more outbreaks - at Queens Park Care Centre in New Westminster and Dufferin Care Centre in Coquitlam - have ended.
This leaves the province with eight active health-care outbreaks, according to the ministry.
Most new COVID-19 infections in B.C. continue to be found in unvaccinated people, who accounted for 55.9 per cent of new cases between Nov. 18 and 24, despite making up less than 20 per cent of the total population.
Likewise, the unvaccinated accounted for 61.9 per cent of new hospitalizations over the two-week period from Nov. 11 to 24.
As of Friday, 91 per cent of B.C. residents ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 87.6 per cent have received both shots.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
LIVE SOON Honda expected to announce Ontario EV battery plant, part of a $15B investment
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Honda executives are expected to announce today that the Japanese automaker is building an electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., part of a $15-billion investment.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'