Vancouver Island adds 204 new COVID-19 cases over weekend

Victoria -

Health officials identified 204 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region over the weekend.

The cases were among 1,692 new cases found across British Columbia since Friday, including 644 cases on Saturday, 613 on Sunday and 435 on Monday.

There are currently 5,608 active COVID-19 cases in B.C., including 661 active cases in the Vancouver Island region, according to a statement from the B.C. health ministry.

Island Health data identified the locations of 558 active cases Monday, including 309 in the South Island, 203 in the Central Island and 46 in the North Island.

Eleven people in the province died from the disease over the weekend, including six deaths in the Fraser Health region, two in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and three in the Northern Health area.

Since the pandemic began, 1,899 people in B.C. have died of COVID-19, including 58 people in the Island Health region.

There are currently 27 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, with 16 patients in critical care.

There are 21 active outbreaks at B.C. health-care facilities, including one on Vancouver Island.

On Sunday, Island Health declared a COVID-19 outbreak at a Victoria care home. Two cases of the coronavirus have been detected at the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre.

All 31 residents of the home are now being tested for COVID-19, as are staff members, the health authority said.

The last health-care outbreak on the island was at Sunset Lodge long-term care home in Victoria. It ended on Friday, after infecting 21 residents and 15 staff members, killing six residents.

Approximately 86.8 per cent of eligible British Columbians have now received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 79.4 per cent have received two doses.

The province has administered 7,711,306 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since it began its immunizing campaign in December.