There have been another 11 deaths due to COVID-19 and an estimated 750 new cases since the province’s last update on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health says, but hospitalizations in B.C. continue to drop.
The new cases include 167 in Fraser Health, 93 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 277 in Interior Health, 108 in Northern Health and 105 in Island Health.
However, health officials have consistently said new case counts are likely much lower than the actual number of new cases due to the province’s limited PCR testing strategy.
There have been 11 new deaths for an overall death toll of 2,777 since the pandemic began. Five of the 11 deaths occurred in Fraser Health, one was in Interior Health, two in Northern Health and three in Island Health.
Hospitalizations dropped to 762 people, down from 787 a day earlier, and 121 of those patients are in ICU.
According to the province, 85.4 per cent of all eligible British Columbians five and older have received at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Several outbreaks at health-care facilities in Island Health were declared over Wednesday, and the province said there were no new outbreaks.
The declining number of hospitalizations is in line with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s statement a day earlier revealing that because the province is trending in the right direction, health restrictions such as event capacity limits can be lifted.
The restrictions being eased as of 11:59 p.m. tonight include limits on indoor personal gatherings and indoor and outdoor organized gatherings, dancing in nightclubs and bars, at fitness centres, swimming pools and sports tournaments. Mask requirements and the B.C. vaccine card will remain in place for the time being, Henry said Tuesday
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