B.C. records 509 more cases of COVID-19, nine deaths

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – B.C. reported 509 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with nine deaths.

The additional cases now put the province’s count of active infections at 4,604 — which is down from the 4,624 active cases the day before. To date, B.C. has recorded 60,117 cases and 1,047 deaths.

Of local #COVID19 cases
13,728 in VCH (+101)
37,258 FH (+260)
1,220 Island (+13)
5,056 Interior (+86)
2,745 Northern Health (+49)
110 non-Canadian residents

(+/-) = change from last report

— Lasia Kretzel (@rhymeswpretzel) January 15, 2021

The update comes as the province continues its vaccination efforts. As of Friday, 75,914 people had received a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C., with 6,168 people getting one since Thursday.

“As of today, thousands of people working and living in long-term care homes, health-care workers and those in remote or at-risk Indigenous communities have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a written statement.

Related articles: 

• B.C. sees ‘impressive plummet’ in COVID-19 case average: infectious disease expert

• B.C. records first case of South African COVID-19 variant

• Pfizer vaccine delays will have small impact on B.C.’s rollout, health minister says

Earlier in the day, Dix had warned that expected delays in Pfizer deliveries would impact how soon some British Columbians received their shots in the weeks ahead.

He and Henry are expressing their disappointment over the delay and say the province is working with the federal government to understand how it will impact B.C.’s vaccine rollout.

Dr. Henry and @adriandix says they are "disappointed to hear today there will be a short-term delay in the delivery of some of the Pfizer vaccines" as the company upgrades its production facility. Working w/ feds to see how this might impact vaccine rollout. #COVID19

— Lasia Kretzel (@rhymeswpretzel) January 15, 2021

More details are being promised for next week.

Meanwhile, Dix and Henry confirmed a new outbreak at Hilltop House, a health-care facility in Squamish. The outbreaks at Villa Cathay and Wingtat Game Bird Packers — both in the Vancouver Coastal Health region — have been declared over.

On Thursday, the province reported its first case of the COVID-19 virus variant first detected in South Africa. In addition to this new case, the province also reported a total of four cases of the variant first identified in the U.K.

There’s been no indication either of these variants have spread further.