B.C. records 1,711 new COVID-19 infections, ‘unlikely’ to move into stage 4

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — As B.C. recorded 1,711 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend, Premier John Horgan said it is unlikely the province will be moving into stage 4 of the B.C. Restart Plan come September.

“The Delta variant and an increase in cases, largely within the unvaccinated population, has led us to pause and reflect on what steps, what measures, we can take through public health and through other initiatives to protect British Columbians,” Premier John Horgan said.

The number of new infections decreased over each of the past three days, with 724 cases recorded on Saturday, 545 on Sunday, and 442 on Monday.

Interior Health recorded the most new cases, with 768. Fraser Health has 419 new cases, and Vancouver Coastal Health recorded 290 new cases.

In the past three days, 16 deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded, for a total of 1,801 in B.C. This includes 14 deaths in Interior Health.

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On Monday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the province continues to see waves of cases in people who are not yet vaccinated.

“Over the past month, up until the end of last week, people who have not been fully vaccinated account for almost 90 per cent of all of our cases, and over 93 per cent of the hospitalizations that we’ve had in this in this past month,” she said.

Henry said unvaccinated people are 10 times more at risk of contracting COVID-19, than vaccinated people.

“These numbers are stark reminder to all of us, why vaccines matter,” she said. “We have made incredible progress, and in our shared efforts to put the pandemic behind us, high levels of transmission among unvaccinated people mean that further action is needed to help reduce transmission to keep all of our businesses open, and ensure we can continue to enjoy the social events that we have been able to, through the summer, as we head into the fall.”

Henry made clear that those who vaccinated are less likely to be infected, infected for a shorter time if you do contract the virus, and much less likely to have a severe illness that requires hospitalization.

Between Aug. 10 – 17, the province said fully vaccinated individuals accounted for 13 per cent of cases, and 11 per cent of hospitalizations.

There are now 133 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C., up from 129 on Friday. The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU has risen sharply from 59 to 80.

Related video: B.C. announces vaccine card for non-essential activities

There are 13 active outbreaks, including three new health-care facility outbreaks at Peace Arch Hospital (Fraser Health), Sun Pointe Village and Hardy View Lodge (Interior Health). The outbreak at Evergreen Baptist Care Society (Fraser Health) has been declared over.

As of Monday, close to 85 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received their first dose of a vaccine, and more than 75 per cent have received both doses.

On Monday afternoon, the provincial government announced the implementation of the B.C. Vaccine Card.

Starting Sept. 13, one vaccine dose will be required to enter anywhere there is non-discretionary activities.

By Oct. 24, only fully immunized people with two vaccine doses will be able to attend these settings, including indoor ticketed sporting events, indoor and patio dining in restaurants, fitness centres, casinos and indoor organized events, like conferences and weddings.

However, there will be no exemptions for people who are unvaccinated, with Henry stating, “If there are those rare people who have a medical reason why they can’t be immunized, these are discretionary events that we’re talking about, so they will not be able to attend those events through this period of time of high risk.”