B.C. records nearly 400 new COVID-19 cases, 10 deaths

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There was a small drop in the new COVID-19 cases in B.C. Thursday.

The province recorded 395 cases in the last day, down more than 10 per cent from yesterday’s total of 456. However, the rolling-seven day average has been creeping up.

Ten more people have died of the virus, for a total of 1,348 in B.C.

There is one new outbreak reported in a long-term care home in Maple Ridge.

More cases of different strains have also been found.

“There have now been 16 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are these variants of concern,” Henry said, noting only nine are currently active cases.

She says they are paying special attention to people diagnosed with variants in some situations.

Meanwhile, Henry says the rolling seven-day average of new cases and positivity rate is going up in B.C.

Henry says her team is keeping an eye on the reproductive level of the virus to ensure it is low before deciding whether to slowly begin to open things up again.

“We are looking ahead into March, to make sure we know when we can increase our social interactions in a limited way, when we can have safe in-person religious services or safely increase things like youth sports,” she said.

The province says 239,888 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far — 68,157 of which are second doses.

Henry is pleading for patience, as vaccination for the general public is rolled out.

“Give us the time to make sure we’re getting it right,” she said. “We have not been idle these last few weeks, when we’ve had limited doses of vaccine. We have been putting together the building blocks to make sure that we can be as efficient as possible, and minimize those inevitable bumps and hurdles that we are going to see along the way,” she said.

More information about the vaccination rollout is expected on Monday.

-With files from Liza Yuzda

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