B.C. reports over 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, 78 new cases in Island Health

CHEK News
WatchBritish Columbia health officials have reported 1,158 new cases – including 78 in Island Health – and 21 deaths from COVID-19.
British Columbia health officials have reported 1,158 new cases – including 78 in Island Health – and 21 deaths from COVID-19.

There were 1,158 new cases of COVID-19, including seven cases of the U.K. variant, identified in British Columbia over the past 72 hours, health officials announced Monday.

Officials also announced 21 new COVID-related deaths over the weekend.

From Friday to Saturday there were 408 new cases, from Saturday to Sunday there were 473 new cases, and from Sunday to today (Feb. 1), there were 277 new cases.

The number of confirmed cases in B.C. is now at 67,937 while the province’s death toll climbs to 1,210.

Of the new cases, 295 were recorded in Vancouver Coastal Health, 493 were in Fraser Health, 78 in Island Health, 194 in Interior Health, and 98 in Northern Health.

Currently, there are 4,134 active cases across the province, 289 people in hospital — 79 of whom are in intensive care — and 7,042 people are under active public health monitoring due to possible exposure to an identified case.

A total of 138,892 people have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 4,491 of those individuals have received two doses.

Furthermore, over 60,000 people in B.C. have recovered from the virus.

B.C. now has 18 cases that are ‘variants of concern’

During Monday’s update, Bonnie Henry, the province’s provincial health officer, said there are now 18 cases in British Columbia that are “variants of concern” after seven cases of the U.K. variant were identified over the weekend.

“It is a concern because every time [variants are] introduced and it can spread, we have seen in other countries how it can spread rapidly and that is what we are worried about right now,” said Henry.

“It’s hard to know what is going to happen in the next little while.”

Of the 18 cases, four cases are the South African variant while the remaining 14 are the U.K. variant. Meanwhile, four cases of the U.K. variant have been identified on Vancouver Island and are all linked to the traveller.

Henry said the majority of these cases are linked to international travel except for three cases of the South African variant.

“These are people, for the most part, who have travelled internationally and come back, except for the three cases that we know of with the South African variant,” she said.

The variants have infected mainly those in their ’30s and ’40s according to Henry, stressing that at the moment, the variants are mainly due to recent overseas travel.

“It is very much travel-related, we are not seeing a lot of it in our community despite the surveillance that we are doing around different outbreaks.”

(CHEK News)

Island Health

According to the latest data provided by Island Health, there are currently 240 active cases on Vancouver Island, an increase of seven cases since Jan. 29.

There are currently 58 (+8) active cases on southern Vancouver Island, 173 (+3) on central Vancouver Island and 9 (-4) on northern Vancouver Island.

Over the course of the pandemic, the Island Health region has reported 1,658 cases and 19 deaths.

Southern Vancouver Island includes the Greater Victoria region, Southern Gulf Islands and the Port Renfrew area.

Central Vancouver Island includes the Cowichan Valley, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni and Tofino areas.

Northern Vancouver Island goes from the Comox Valley to Port Hardy but also includes surrounding areas like Alert Bay and Sointula.

Nicholas PescodNicholas Pescod
April LawrenceApril Lawrence

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