Vancouver Island adds 54 new COVID-19 cases as more restrictions placed on Interior Health

Victoria -

B.C. health officials say 54 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Vancouver Island region Friday, as health restrictions expand in the Interior Health region.

Island Health's new cases were among 663 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours.

There are now 6,345 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 391 active cases in the island region, according to the B.C. Ministry of Health.

Island Health identified the locations of 325 active cases Friday, including 170 in the South Island, 115 in the Central Island and 40 in the North Island.

NEW HEALTH RESTRICTIONS FOR INTERIOR HEALTH

Earlier Friday, health officials said that more health restrictions were coming to the Interior Health region.

All health restrictions that were already in place for the Central Okanagan region since Aug. 6 have now been expanded to all communities in the Interior Health region. Additionally, capacity limits have been issued for fitness classes in the region.

Health officials are urging travellers to avoid the province's Interior due to COVID-19 and ongoing wildfires.

"We are strongly recommending again that people avoid non-essential travel to and from the Interior Health region regardless of their vaccination status," said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry during a news conference Friday.

Henry says the majority of new COVID-19 cases in the Interior Health region are found among unvaccinated people.

"If you live in the Interior Health region, the best thing you can do to get us through these restrictions is get vaccinated, and to encourage those in your life to do the same," she said.

However, she acknowledged that there have been challenges accessing vaccines in the health authority due to wildfires, which have burned through some communities and displaced residents.

Health officials say one more person has died of COVID-19, bringing the province's pandemic death toll to 1,785. The victim lived in the Fraser Health region.

Since the pandemic began, Island Health has reported 42 deaths and 5,853 cases of COVID-19.

There are currently eight people in hospital with COVID-19 in the island region and five more are receiving critical care, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

As of Friday, approximately 83 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 74.3 per cent have received two doses.

In total, the province has administered 7,296,096 doses of vaccine since December 2020.