B.C. COVID-19 cases holding steady, hospitalizations rise

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A bit of a cooldown in B.C.’s COVID-19 cases after the province saw a massive jump last week.

Over the weekend, there were a total of 1,434 new cases of COVID-19, with more than half of the cases in the Interior Health region.

Between Friday and Saturday there were 532 new cases, 441 between Saturday and Sunday, and 461 between Sunday and Monday.

It’s a drop in cases which have surged in recent days. On Friday, the province recorded 717 new cases, the highest since May.

B.C. is in the midst of a fourth wave, being blamed on the more infectious Delta variant, which makes up the majority of the cases now found in B.C.

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The largest surge in cases has been reported in the Interior Health region, where the Central Okanagan remains under strict COVID-19 restrictions and travel is discouraged to popular destinations like Kelowna.

Over the three-day-average there were 734 new cases in that region, compared to 316 in Fraser Health, which was previously the province’s hot spot.

There was one new death reported in the province, in the Fraser Health region.

Despite lower COVID-19 average cases dropping, the hospitalizations remain high. There are 104 people in hospital, 22 more people than Friday, and 47 are in intensive care compared to 39.

The number of second doses has risen slightly, with 73.2 per cent of those eligible now fully vaccinated. 82.6 per cent have received one dose.

There are 10 care home outbreaks: