Vancouver Island adds 13 new COVID-19 cases; active cases hit 65
Health officials identified 13 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Friday as the number of active cases in the region continues to rise.
The new cases are among 243 cases found across British Columbia over the past 24 hours.
There are currently 1,231 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 65 active cases in the island region, according to a statement Friday from the B.C. health ministry.
More than half of the recent cases and active infections are in the Interior Health region, where an outbreak was declared in a central Okanagan care home.
There were no deaths from the disease reported in B.C. on Friday, leaving the province's pandemic death toll at 1,771.
Since the pandemic began, 41 people have died of COVID-19 in the Island Health region, where 5,265 cases have been recorded.
There is currently one person in hospital with COVID-19 in the island region and no one in critical care, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Island Health officials identified the locations of 61 active cases in the island region Friday, including 35 in the South Island, 24 in the Central Island and two in the North Island.
As of Friday, 81.1 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and older have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 64.9 per cent have received two doses.
B.C. health-care workers have administered 6,774,257 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since the vaccines became available in December.
Background
CTV News Vancouver Island reports the daily COVID-19 case counts as reported by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, which are based on BCCDC data. There may be a discrepancy between the daily case counts reported by the BCCDC and Island Health.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6863597.1714161309!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.