B.C. records 342 COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rising

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — B.C. is recording the highest number of new COVID-19 cases the province has seen in over two months.

According to the province Wednesday, 342 people have been infected with COVID-19 in the last day. Half of the new cases were recorded from the Interior Health Authority (171 cases). This represents a 41 per cent increase compared to the figures seen at the end of last week.

There were 66 cases in Fraser Health and 57 in Vancouver Coastal Health. Island Health has 32 new cases and Northern Health is dealing with 13 additional infections. There are also three new cases involving British Columbians who are currently abroad.

Of the 1,764 active cases, 55 people have been hospitalized with the illness, up from 53 on Tuesday. There are 23 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, up from 19.

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The rise in cases comes just a month before the province is expected to enter stage 4, with Sept. 7 the earliest date that could happen. However, despite the increase in cases, B.C.’s top doctor told NEWS 1130 Wednesday she’s confident in the province’s reopening timeline.

“We absolutely are on track,” she said.

In Stage 4, masks become a personal choice, we return to normal social contact, and concerts would be allowed again.

Henry remains concerned about the Delta variant and the number of people who are still unimmunized.

“We look at the Interior [where] all of the people who are ICU right now — and there are some younger people who have had quite severe disease — are unvaccinated,” Henry said.

Watch: Walk-in vaccine clinics open across B.C. on Wednesday

B.C. has not recorded any new deaths in the past day, keeping the total since the start of the pandemic at 1,772.

There are active outbreaks at five long-term care homes.  Four are in the Fraser Health region which includes, Holyrood Manor, Nelson Jubilee Manor, Kootenay Street Village and Cottonwoods Care Centre.  One outbreak is currently active in the Interior Health region — Brookhaven Care Centre.

Almost 68 per cent of eligible people in British Columbia have received both vaccine doses, while 81.5 per cent of British Columbians 12 and older have gotten at least one shot.

This is the first-ever “Walk-In Wednesday,” where British Columbians are invited to drop by a clinic near them to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without an appointment.

– With files from Claire Fenton and Denise Wong