Vancouver Island adds 62 new COVID-19 cases as active cases continue to climb

Victoria -

Health officials identified 62 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region over the weekend.

The new cases were among 1,079 cases found across the province since Friday, including 422 cases found on Saturday, 364 on Sunday and 293 on Monday.

There are now 3,036 active cases of COVID-19 across the province, according to the B.C. health ministry, including 188 active cases in the Vancouver Island region.

Island Health identified the locations of 173 active cases Monday, including 88 in the South Island, 73 in the Central Island and 12 in the North Island.

Active cases in the island region have reached their highest peak since mid-May, due to the surging Delta variant. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region, however, remains at a historic low.

There is currently one person in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, and one more person is in critical care, according to the latest data from the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Earlier Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said most new infections in B.C. are in the unvaccinated, but said that when the Delta variant enters high-risk settings, such as care homes, it can spread to those who are immunized as well.  

The island region has recorded 5,453 cases since the pandemic began and 41 people in the region have died.

There were five deaths related to the disease reported in B.C. over the weekend, bringing the province's death toll to 1,777. Four of the deaths were recorded in the Interior Health region and one was recorded in Northern Health.

A long-term care home outbreak at the Discovery Harbour facility in Campbell River, B.C., is ongoing. It is one of seven active care home outbreaks in B.C. and the only active care home outbreak on the island.

As of Monday, 82 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 70.3 per cent have received two doses.

B.C. health-care workers have administered 7,067,738 vaccine doses since vaccines became available in December.