B.C.’s high rate of COVID-19 infections continued Friday, with 1,262 cases, just below the record set on Thursday.
The latest total brings the number of active infections in B.C. to 9,574, with more than 15,000 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. There are 332 people in hospital with COVID-19-related conditions as of Friday, down from 336 Thursday, and 102 patients in intensive care. There have been two additional coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,495 in B.C. since the pandemic began a year ago.
In the health care system, an outbreak at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody has been declared over. Outbreak protocols remain in place for acute-care areas at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Chilliwack General Hospital, Prince Rupert Regional Hospital, Vernon Jubilee Hospital, Vancouver General and UBC Hospitals.
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Infections in senior care facilities have been reduced significantly by vaccination of staff and residents, with one Fraser Health facility in outbreak protocol with one or more cases identified at Chartwell Langley Gardens. Acropolis Manor in Prince Rupert has its second outbreak, the only current one in the Northern Health Region, and Cottonwoods Care Centre in Kelowna has the only current outbreak in Interior Health. Long Lake Chateau in Nanaimo has the only current long-term care outbreak on Vancouver Island.
“More than one million doses (1,025,019) of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,606 of which are second doses,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement April 9. “This is a significant milestone for all of us, and we will continue to work to get vaccines into arms as soon as we can. Today, people 65 and older, Indigenous peoples 18 and over, and individuals who have received their ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ letter may register for their vaccine.”
@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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