B.C.'s daily COVID-19 record shattered by more than 1,400 cases in latest update
The record for most COVID-19 cases reported in a single day was shattered Thursday, when the province reported a number 1,439 cases higher than ever seen before in B.C.
The latest data reported by the Health Ministry included 4,383 cases confirmed in the latest 24-hour period – significantly higher than the record-breaking 2,944 cases recorded the day before.
Also a record is the number of cases of the novel coronavirus considered active in B.C., at 17,357.
Of the latest cases, the majority (2,319) were in B.C.'s most populous health authority, Fraser. Another 977 were recorded in Vancouver Coastal Health, and 501 were detected in the Interior.
Island Health recorded 460 more cases, and 122 were confirmed by the Northern Health Authority. The remaining four cases were confirmed in people who reside outside of Canada, according to the ministry.
Since the start of the pandemic, 251,054 cases have been confirmed in B.C., 230,784 of whom are considered to have recovered.
With the latest update, a total of 2,825 cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in B.C. All but 711 of those cases are in the Lower Mainland, in either the Vancouver Coastal or Fraser health authorities.
There are currently 211 COVID-19 patients in hospital who are considered contagious, 66 of whom are being treated in intensive care units.
Health officials say immunization is still among the best strategies to avoid winding up in hospital is to get both shots of vaccine – and a booster, for those who are eligible.
More than half the total number of people hospitalized over the last two weeks (54.7 per cent) have not been vaccinated at all.
Adjusting for age, 14.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 population have been in those who haven't had any doses, compared to 1.1 hospitalizations in the fully vaccinated.
As of Thursday, 88 per cent of people aged five and up had received at least one dose, and 82.9 per cent had been given both shots.
Eliminating those aged five to 11, the most recent demographic in B.C. to be eligible for vaccine, 92.3 per cent of people have at least one dose of vaccine, and 89.6 per cent have had both.
One more person has died since Wednesday's update, when the death toll climbed to 2,419. That person lived in the Interior Health Authority.
The update comes a day after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the number of daily cases reported in these daily updates is likely much lower -- three to five times lower -- than the actual number of people who've contracted COVID-19.
The daily updates only have information on test results and epidemiologically-linked cases.
They also don't include data on the number people forgoing testing under the provincial health officer's new recommendations.
Thursday's update included six more health-care outbreaks in the province. Including the latest, at Mission Memorial Hospital, New Vista Care Centre, Chartwell Langley Gardens, Chartwell Carlton Gardens, Chartwell Crescent Gardens and Guildford Seniors Village, there are now 13 facilities dealing with ongoing outbreaks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.