COVID-19 update: 180 new cases as B.C. crosses 75% first-dose vaccination mark

Vancouver -

B.C. health officials announced 180 new cases of COVID-19 and one related death in their final pandemic update of the week Friday.

There are currently 1,880 active cases of the coronavirus in B.C. Of those, 162 people are battling the virus in hospital, including 45 who are in intensive care.

The latest numbers came in a written statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix Friday afternoon.

In it, the health officials announced that more than 75 per cent of all adults in the province have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Slightly more than 73 per cent of those ages 12 and over have received at least one dose.

B.C. has now administered a total of 3,893,581 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. That total includes 497,932 second doses.

Vaccination rates, along with continued declines in new and active cases, are key measures provincial officials are looking at as they decide whether to move forward with reopening plans.

B.C. is scheduled to move to Step 2 of its restart plan, which will allow larger outdoor gatherings, recreational travel within the province and later liquor sales in restaurants, on Tuesday.

“As long as we increase our contacts in a slow and measured way, register and get fully vaccinated, and continue to use our layers of protection, we can confidently move forward with B.C.’s restart plan," Dix and Henry said in their statement.

The pair also announced that an outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Rotary Manor Dawson Creek.

In a separate news release, Northern Health indicated that the outbreak is limited to the long-term care home's special care unit-south. Two residents of the facility have tested positive, so far, and one has died, according to the health authority. 

Friday's update brought B.C. to 146,176 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. A total of 1,730 people have died from the disease in the province.

Of the 180 infections added to the total, most were found in the Fraser Health region. There were 107 new cases there Friday, while there were just 11 in neighbouring Vancouver Coastal Health.

Elsewhere in B.C., Interior Health saw 39 new cases Friday, Island Health recorded 13 and Northern Health recorded 10.

The rolling seven-day average for new cases in the province was essentially unchanged Friday, at 161.