Island Health reports no new COVID-19 deaths as health orders extended
According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, no new deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in Island Health over the past 24 hours.
Across the province, however, two more deaths related to the illness were confirmed in Fraser Health, bringing the province's pandemic death toll to 2,492, including 155 in the island region.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
Fifty-eight people are currently in hospital for treatment of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including 10 patients in critical care.
Tuesday's update marks a slight decrease in hospitalizations from Monday, when 60 people were in hospital in Island Health, while the number of patients in ICU remains unchanged.
This time last month, 42 patients were in hospital in Island Health, including 14 who required intensive care, according to BCCDC data from Dec. 17.
NEW CASES
The BCCDC is reporting 237 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Tuesday.
The new cases are among 2,032 cases confirmed across the province over the past 24 hours.
However, the B.C. Ministry of Health says 175 new cases of COVID-19 were added to the island region, while 1,975 were reported across the province Tuesday.
The Health Ministry notes its numbers are provisional "due to a delayed data refresh" and will be reviewed once that data is confirmed.
Health officials say that while confirmed cases are only a fraction of the actual number of cases in B.C., the test results are still an indicator of transmission rates in the province.
There are currently 37,224 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 2,262 active cases in the island region, according to the BCCDC.
VACCINATIONS
As of Tuesday, 89.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83.4 per cent have received two doses.
Meanwhile, 34.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians, aged 12 and older, have received a third dose of vaccine.
HEALTH ORDERS
Tuesday's update follows a live news conference in which provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix extended most of B.C.'s COVID-19 restrictions on indoor events and gatherings until at least Feb. 16.
However, the province is allowing gyms to reopen on Thursday with new guidelines around physical distancing between people exercising.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Ontario driver who killed woman and three daughters sentenced to 17 years in prison
A driver who struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters in Brampton, Ont., nearly two years ago is being sentenced to 17 years behind bars.

The victims of the Buffalo Tops grocery store shooting
The Buffalo Police Department late Sunday released the names of the 10 victims killed in the shooting. Three people were also wounded.
White 'replacement theory' fuels racist attacks
A racist ideology seeping from the internet's fringes into the mainstream is being investigated as a motivating factor in the supermarket shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York. Most of the victims were Black.
CREA reports home sales down in April as mortgage rates rise
Increasing mortgage rates slowed home sales in April from the frenzied pace they started the year at, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.
McDonald's to sell its Russian business, try to keep workers
More than three decades after it became the first American fast food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union, McDonald's said Monday that it has started the process of selling its business in Russia, another symbol of the country's increasing isolation over its war in Ukraine.
Royal tour of Canada: Here's Prince Charles and Camilla's itinerary
Canadians welcome Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, as they embark on a three-day, travel-filled visit starting Tuesday. Between what senior government officials, Canadian Heritage, Rideau Hall and Clarence House have released, here's everything we know about the royal tour and its itinerary.
Amber Heard testifies Johnny Depp assaulted her on their honeymoon
'Aquaman' actor Amber Heard told jurors on Monday that Johnny Depp slammed her against a wall and wrapped a shirt around her neck during their 2015 honeymoon on the Orient Express.
Lacking vaccines, North Korea battles COVID with antibiotics, home remedies
The isolated state is one of only two countries yet to begin a vaccination campaign and, until last week, had insisted it was COVID-19-free.
Justice advocate David Milgaard remembered as champion for those who 'don't have a voice'
Justice advocate David Milgaard, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent more than two decades in prison, has died.