Vancouver Island adds 5 new COVID-19 cases, 22 now active
Provincial health officials identified five new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Friday.
The cases were among 112 new cases found across British Columbia over the past 24 hours.
There are currently 603 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, including 22 active cases in the Island Health region, according to the B.C health ministry’s final update of the week.
Since the pandemic began, 148,842 cases of COVID-19 have been reported across the province, including 5,208 found in the Vancouver Island region.
There are currently two patients in hospital with COVID-19 in the island region, but no one in critical care.
Island Health officials identified the locations of 21 active cases in the region Friday, including 15 in the South Island, four in the Central Island and two in the North Island.
Four more deaths related to the disease were reported in B.C. on Friday. Two deaths were recorded in the Interior, while one was recorded in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and one in the Fraser Health region.
Since the pandemic began, 1,767 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., including 41 people in the Island Health region.
Health officials say 80.3 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 58.1 per cent have received two doses.
The province has administered 6,422,503 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since December.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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.
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.
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.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
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.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
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.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.