B.C. records 341 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 more deaths
B.C. health officials announced 341 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths on Friday.
In a written statement, the provincial government said there are currently 3,035 active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.
A total of 291 people are in hospital with the disease, with 115 in intensive care.
Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are down by 18.7 per cent from last Friday, when 358 people were in hospital with the disease.
COVID-19 in British Columbia by the numbers
The number of patients in intensive care is up by about 5.5 per cent from a week ago when 109 people were in the ICU.
The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is now 2,322 lives lost out of 217,099 confirmed cases to date.
Rolling average of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents by health authority in B.C.'s 4th wave
The regional breakdown of new cases is as follows:
100 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 1,071 total active cases.
77 new cases in Interior Health, which has 593 total active cases.
68 new cases in Island Health, which has 448 total active cases.
65 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 536 total active cases.
31 new cases in Northern Health, which has 381 total active cases
There are no new cases among people who reside outside of Canada, a group which has six total active cases.
There are a total of eight active outbreaks in assisted living, long-term, and acute care facilities. The province has declared outbreaks over at Queens Park Care Centre in New Westminster and Dufferin Care Centre in Coquitlam.
Acute care outbreaks include:
Abbotsford Regional Hospital
Ridge Meadows Hospital
St. Paul's Hospital
Deaths per day due to COVID-19 in B.C., daily total and rolling average
As of Friday, 91 per cent of those 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 87.6 per cent a second dose.
From Nov. 18 to 24, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 59.2 per cent of cases and from Nov. 11, they accounted for 68.4 per cent of hospitalizations, according to the province.
So far, 8.63 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including just over four million second doses.
COVID-19 infections in B.C. by vaccination status, adjusted by population and age
New variant of concern declared as travel restrictions imposed
The federal government has imposed travel restrictions on seven countries in southern Africa after a coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa was declared a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.
Concerns have risen over the B.1.1.529 variant, which has been dubbed the "omicron" variant which is potentially more transmissible and possibly more vaccine resistant than previously discovered variants.
All foreign nationals who have travelled through South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini or Mozambique in the last 14 days will be barred from entering Canada, and those who have arrived from those countries will have to quarantine for 14 days.
B.C.'s COVID-19 vaccination progress
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix issued a joint statement on Friday supporting the federal restrictions.
"We do not yet know the impact this new [variant of concern] will have on transmission or severity of illness but taking this immediate precautionary action is prudent," they said.
"At this time, there is no evidence that this variant has been introduced into British Columbia."
According to officials, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has sequenced over 90,000 individual virus cases thus far, and will continue to screen for variants including omicron.
