VICTORIA -- Provincial health officials identified 17 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Thursday.
The new cases were among 694 cases found across British Columbia over the past 24 hours.
The Island Health region has now recorded 4,784 cases of COVID-19 and 38 deaths since the pandemic began.
One more person in B.C. has died of COVID-19, health officials announced Thursday, bringing the province’s pandemic death toll to 1,595.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said the death was recorded in the Interior Health region.
Transmission rates across Vancouver Island have been in steady decline since early last month, when a high of 80 new cases was reported on April 9.
There are currently 240 active cases in the island region, including 15 people in hospital and five in critical care.
Island Health identified the locations of 187 active cases Thursday, including 93 in the South Island, 74 in the Central Island and 20 in the North Island.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C. will administer its two-millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, calling the number “another exciting milestone.”
“This is very good news,” Henry said in a live address. “Our immunizations are going up quickly and our ages for those who are eligible for the vaccine are coming down.”
B.C. has also recorded its first case of a rare but serious blood clot as a result of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Henry said a woman in her 40s in the Vancouver Coastal Health region developed the blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. The woman is in hospital in stable condition, Henry said.
“This is something that we know is rare but is associated with the AstraZeneca vaccines we have received here in Canada,” Henry said, adding that the likelihood of the occurrence is about one-in-100,000 doses.
Henry said the AstraZeneca vaccine remains safe and effective.
“I recognize it can be alarming to hear of this blood clot,” Henry said. “If you are somebody who has received this vaccine, you need to know that it is rare and it is treatable and you can be confident that you have received a safe and effective vaccine.”
