VICTORIA -- Health officials identified another 27 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Tuesday.
The new cases are among 429 cases found provincewide over the past 24 hours.
Eight more people in B.C. have died of COVID-19 since Monday, bringing the province’s death toll from the disease to 1,218.
“We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a statement.
There have been 1,702 cases of COVID-19 recorded in the island region since the pandemic began.
There are 278 active cases in the region on Tuesday, including 17 people in hospital and six in critical care.
Nineteen people have died of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island since the pandemic began and 1,392 people have recovered.
Island Health has identified the locations of 239 active cases on Tuesday. Most active cases – 175 – remain in the Central Island region, while 55 are active in the South Island and nine are active in the North Island.
Health officials have administered 140,452 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in B.C., including 5,097 secondary doses.
Dix and Henry said B.C. is making encouraging progress in bending its transmission curve downward.
“The efforts you are making, combined with the immunization of our long-term care residents and workers, are making a difference,” the health officials said.
“With everyone in B.C. following the restrictions we have in place and always using our layers of protection, we are not only starting to slow the spread in B.C., but are also better positioned to deal with the uncertainties of the new variants of concern."
