Vancouver Island adds 55 new COVID-19 cases

Victoria -

British Columbia health officials identified 55 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Wednesday.

The new cases were among 609 cases found across the province since Tuesday.

There are currently 4,748 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 524 active cases in the Island Health region, according to the B.C. health ministry.

Island Health data identified the locations of 461 active cases Wednesday, including 135 in the South Island, 276 in the Central Island and 50 in the North Island.

Fifty-six people are in hospital with COVID-19 in the Island Health region, including 22 in critical care, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Six more people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., the ministry said in an update Wednesday afternoon. Five deaths were reported in the Fraser Health region and one occurred in the Northern Health region.

Since the pandemic began, 2,137 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., including 89 people in the Island Health region.

Approximately 89.7 per cent of eligible British Columbians have now received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 84.7 per cent have received two doses.

The province has administered 8,186,611 vaccine doses since immunization began in December.