873 British Columbians test positive for COVID-19, province records two more deaths

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — COVID-19 cases in B.C. have taken a slight dip Tuesday, but the province is still recording 873 infections.

However, because of a reporting delay, this count is considered preliminary and may be adjusted later.

Two more people have passed away, and of the 377 people in hospital, 116 are in the ICU.

There are 9,756 active COVID-19 cases in B.C. and 16,290 people are under public health monitoring because they’ve been exposed to the virus.

In total, 113,702 people in the province have been infected by the virus, 1,515 people have died and 102,268 people who have tested positive, have since recovered.

The province also continues to keep tabs on the number of COVID-19 cases that are considered variants of concern, with a total of 5,221 confirmed in BC.

“This includes 3,627 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 65 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 1,529 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant,” a joint statement from Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix reads.

Of those, 258 are active, while the remaining people have recovered.

A little more than 1.14 million doses of vaccine have been handed out, and about 87,000 of those are second shots.

Meantime, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth insists that COVID rule-breakers are being held accountable for their actions, with 1,709 tickets issued to date.

“[Tickets] range from the $230 up to the new $575 and the $2,300 tickets. As well there have been cases where people are facing additional long-form charges that can result in significant fines of up to $10,000 and one year in jail,” he says.

He also says additional measures will be introduced this legislative session to make sure people who are disputing tickets, will actually have to pay them.

Farnworth was asked about people who have run afoul of rules but have disputed fines instead of paying them.

“The reality is we live in a democracy. And people do have the ability and the right to dispute a ticket, and that is what is happened. At the same time, when they don’t dispute a ticket, that ticket is they are then deemed to be guilty, that is sent to a collection agency.”

Currently, people 65 and older, Indigenous peoples 18 and over, and people who have received their “clinically extremely vulnerable” letter are eligible to receive their vaccine.

However, people born 1966 or earlier (55+) can register for the vaccine as of Monday. That will extend to people born in 1971 or earlier (50+) on Wednesday, to those born in 1976 or earlier (45+) on Friday, and to those born in 1981 or earlier (40+) on Monday, April 19th.

In parallel with the age-based vaccine program, people 55 to 65 may also book appointments for the AstraZeneca vaccine at pharmacies throughout the province.

“We are adapting our vaccine delivery in step with our supply and will continue to do that moving forward. If needed, we will pivot, pause or shift our delivery to maximize protection to as many people as possible,” Henry and Dix say.

“Right now, the parallel worker program is focused on transmission hot spots – high-risk workplaces in our highest-risk communities. We are systematically working through the immunization of our first responders, school staff and child care workers in these communities, and in the coming weeks will expand into more communities as vaccine supplies allow.

The province has also extended B.C.’s State of Emergency until April 27.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today