VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Twenty-one people in B.C. have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours as the province administered its first COVID-19 vaccine.
Another 522 infections were added, which is the lowest single-day count since Nov. 20, for a total of 43,463 confirmed cases Tuesday.
These hospitalizations and ICU numbers again set records.
(for reference our worst day in spring had 149 in hospital and 72 in ICU)#bcpoli #covid19 @NEWS1130 https://t.co/6awPTVFmZl— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) December 15, 2020
More people continue to be hospitalized because of COVID-19, marking a new record of 361. The number of patients in critical care has also gone up to 93 people currently in the ICU.
In a joint release from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, they note the major step the province took earlier in the day by administering its first shot of the vaccine.
“With immunizations now underway, those who are most vulnerable to severe illness have one more layer of protection that will get stronger as each new person gets immunized,” the release reads. “Even as we look to brighter days ahead, we must remember that the pandemic is far from over. This is why, as we enter this next stage, using our layers of protection and following all of the public health orders is more important than ever.”
This comes as Burnaby Hospital has been hit with its third outbreak of the virus, but it isn’t connected to the previous ones. Twelve people died in the second outbreak that was declared over Dec. 10.
BC #covid19 Dec 15
New cases lower – 522 the lowest since Nov 20
(Long way to go – remember when 30 new cases a day was jaw dropping in September?)
21 deaths – devastating (Thur & Sat worse at 28)#bcpoli @NEWS1130 https://t.co/lUBPKrnSOV pic.twitter.com/WBlGubhZ0c— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) December 16, 2020
There’s also an outbreak at the Teck Resources Elkview and Fording River and a cluster at Big White.
The outbreak at Langley Memorial has ended.
-with files from Liza Yuzda and Marcella Bernardo
