B.C.’s daily COVID-19 numbers continue to rise with 243 new cases Friday

Alberta's big changes to its COVID-19 response are not going to be echoed in B.C. Not criticizing the moves Alberta is making, like removing mandatory isolation and contact tracing, but B.C. clear its following its own path. Liza Yuzda reports.

By Denise Wong

Posted July 30, 2021 3:04 pm.

Last Updated July 30, 2021 6:26 pm.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – B.C. has recorded 243 new COVID-19 infections in the past day, a number we haven’t seen since late May.

More than half of the new cases (131) were in the Interior Health region, which includes the Central Okanagan, where an outbreak was declared earlier this week.

Fraser Health recorded 56 new infections in the past day, while Vancouver Coastal Health saw 32. There were nine new cases in Northern Health, and another 13 in Island Health.

BC #covid19 update.
Good: no deaths
243 new cases (highest since May 29)
1231 active (last there June 19/20 weekend)
693 of the active cases in @Interior_Health
Hospital rates steady
ICU rates down (half what it was Wednesday – back to what it was last week)#bcpoli @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/vmFu1gGhEz

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) July 30, 2021

COVID-19 hospitalizations have remained relatively steady over the past couple weeks, with 47 reported on Friday. Sixteen of those patients are in the ICU.

There have been no COVID-related deaths in the past day.

Nearly two-thirds of eligible British Columbians have now received both doses of vaccine against the virus. The province says 64.9 per cent are fully vaccinated, while 81.1 per cent have received at least one dose.

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 6,774,257 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

With a travel advisory in place, urging people not travel to the Central Okanagan if they are not fully vaccinated, it appears many people are instead turning to Vancouver Island for their long weekend getaway.

Bookings from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay and Duke Point started to sell out Thursday afternoon. By Friday morning, almost all reservations for the day were already spoken for.