COVID-19 cases jump again Thursday in B.C.

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — There are 689 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, and two new deaths, as the province continues to face high case numbers linked to the Delta variant.

There are 121 people are in hospital, 56 of them in intensive care.

The highest number of cases remains in the Interior Health region, with 278 cases and one more death.

Cases jumped in the Fraser Health region over Wednesday, with 219 new cases, a difference of 67 from the previous day.

There are also more cases within the Vancouver Coastal Health region, now reporting 123, a jump of 26 cases.

There are 42 cases in the Island Health region.

The second death was in the Northern Health region, where there are 27 new cases Thursday.

Related Articles:

• As B.C. cities consider mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for workers, lawyer outlines challenges for employers

• Big events are back in Vancouver, but it will not be the same as before

• COVID long-hauler in North Vancouver struggles with B.C. wildfire smoke

There is also another outbreak at a long-term care facility in the province.

Fraser Health has declared an outbreak at Heritage Village long-term care facility in Chilliwack after one resident and three staff members tested positive for the virus.

The other outbreaks declared in recent days include: Kin Village West Court, Evergreen Baptist Care Society (Fraser Health), Village at Mill Creek – second floor, Nelson Jubilee Manor, Kootenay Street Village, Cottonwoods Care Centre, and Brookhaven Care Centre.

The outbreak at the Discovery Harbour long-term care centre within the Island Health region has been declared over.

The cases have climbed in recent days in the province, as have hospitalization rates, linked to the highly infectious Delta variant.

The immunization rates have slowly increased, 83.7 per cent of the eligible adults in the province have received one dose, and 75.3 per cent have received their second dose.