Vancouver Island adds 417 new COVID-19 cases; active cases surpass 3,750

Another 417 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the Vancouver Island region Thursday.

The new cases are among 3,223 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours.

Active cases continue to reach new highs in B.C., with 31,817 cases active across the province, including a record-setting 3,765 active cases in the Island Health region, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

On Thursday evening, Island Health declared a new COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care home in Victoria, as more cases were identified at facilities where outbreaks had already been declared.

Three deaths related to COVID-19 were recorded in B.C. on Thursday. Two occurred in Fraser Health and one was reported in Northern Health.

Since the pandemic began, 2,430 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., including 145 in the island region.

There are currently 61 people in hospital for treatment of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including 14 patients who require critical care.

As of Thursday, 88.4 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83.1 per cent have received two doses.

Meanwhile, 24.1 per cent of eligible B.C. residents have received three doses of vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health.