B.C. records 946 COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths over weekend

In the last three days, B.C. has added another 946 new cases to its COVID-19 total and 11 people have died.

From Friday to Saturday, 351 cases were recorded, Saturday to Sunday there were 311 and from Sunday to Monday, 284 people tested positive for the virus.

The deaths recorded over the weekend came out of the regions with the highest case counts. There were 285 cases and five deaths in Fraser Health, two deaths and 211 cases in Interior Health, and four deaths and 115 cases in Northern Health.

Meanwhile, Island Health recorded 197 cases and Vancouver Coastal Health recorded 138 cases.

Out of the 2,876 active cases, 241 people are in hospital Monday and 89 are in intensive care.

According to the province, people not fully vaccinated from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, accounted for 58.3 per cent of cases and from Nov. 19 to Dec. 2, they accounted for 66.1 per cent of hospitalizations.

Health Minister Adrian Dix suggests people in B.C. should focus on the COVID-19 variant that’s already here and disproportionately affecting those who haven’t been vaccinated.

Dix says that despite all the attention being paid to the new Omicron variant, people need only look at the impact of the Delta variant to see why they need to take steps to stay safe over the holidays.

He adds that the number of pharmacies administering COVID-19 vaccines will nearly quadruple to about 1,000 by next month when eligibility for booster shots is expanded.

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Dix says that will allow public clinics to focus on the task of vaccinating 349,000 children aged five to 11 who are now eligible.

More than 85 per cent of eligible people five and older in B.C. have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 82 per cent have received their second dose.

The number of British Columbians vaccinated against COVID-19 has continued to inch up as the province enters its second week of shots for the youngest eligible cohort.

“We’re about at 38 per cent of children [aged] five to 11 registered,” Dix said Monday.

Dix says about 84 per cent of those kids have appointments booked or have already received their first doses.

Meanwhile, the province says half a million booster doses have been administered to British Columbians, including half of those aged 70 and up.

There are five facilities with ongoing outbreaks, including:

Long-term care: George Derby Centre (Fraser Health); and Ponderosa Lodge (Interior Health)

Acute care: Ridge Meadows Hospital (Fraser Health); and St. Paul’s Hospital (Vancouver Coastal Health)

Assisted or independent living: Laurier Manor (Northern Health)