Vancouver Island adds 29 new COVID-19 cases

Victoria -

Health officials identified 29 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Thursday.

The new cases were among 513 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours.

There are now 3,834 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 220 active cases in the Island Health region, according to the health ministry.

Island Health identified the locations of 193 active cases Thursday, including 111 in the South Island, 69 in the Central Island and 13 in the North Island.

One more person in the Interior Health region has died of COVID-19, health officials announced Thursday.

Since the pandemic began, 1,779 people have died of the disease in B.C., including 41 people in the Vancouver Island region.

According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, there are currently two people in hospital and five more receiving critical care in the Island Health region.

As of Thursday, 83.1 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C., while 71.6 per cent have received two doses.

B.C. has now administered 7,141,196 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since it began its immunization campaign in December.

A long-term care home outbreak at Campbell River's Discovery Harbour facility is ongoing, according to the province. It is one of eight health-care outbreaks in B.C., and the only one located in the Island Health region.

Earlier Thursday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that B.C. would be requiring mandatory vaccinations for staff who work at long-term care homes and assisted living facilities in the province.