Vancouver Island adds 13 new COVID-19 cases in final update of the week
B.C. Health officials say 13 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Vancouver Island region Friday.
The new cases are among 180 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours.
In a rare turn, more cases were found in the Vancouver Island region than the Vancouver Coastal Health region on Friday.
Island Health reported 13 new cases, Vancouver Coastal reported 11, Fraser Health added 107 new cases, Interior Health reported 39 and Northern Health identified 10 new cases over the past 24 hours.
B.C. has now reported 146,176 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including 5,120 found in the Vancouver Island region.
There are currently 83 active cases of COVID-19 in the island region, according to the BCCDC. Of those cases, two people are in hospital for treatment, neither of whom require critical care.
Island Health identified the locations of 56 of the active cases Friday, including 37 in the South Island, 11 in the Central Island and eight in the North Island.
Health officials say one person has died of the virus Friday, bringing the province's death toll to 1,730. The victim did not live in the island region, where 41 people have died since the pandemic began.
"Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19," said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a joint statement.
Roughly three out of four adults in British Columbia have now received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to health officials. Approximately 75.1 per cent of adults have received their first dose, while 73.1 per cent of youth aged 12 and older have received their first dose.
In total, B.C. has administered 3,893,581 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 497,932 second doses.
"What we have seen is that getting fully immunized with your first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine is making the difference, helping to dramatically slow the spread in our communities," said Henry and Dix.
Health officials say that B.C. remains on track to ease restrictions next week, when Step 2 of the province's reopening plan is scheduled to take place on June 15 at the earliest.
"As long as we increase our contacts in a slow and measured way, register and get fully vaccinated, and continue to use our layers of protection, we can confidently move forward with BC’s Restart plan," said Dix and Henry.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.