Vancouver Island adds 66 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
Health officials identified 66 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Wednesday as the number of active cases in the region remains above 600.
The new cases were among 661 cases found across British Columbia over the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the B.C. health ministry.
There currently 5,791 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 615 active cases in the Vancouver Island region, according to the ministry.
Island Health data identified the locations of 531 active cases Wednesday, including 215 in the South Island, 255 in the Central Island and 61 in the North Island.
There are currently 24 people in hospital for COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. Of that total, 15 patients are receiving critical care.
Seven more deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in B.C. on Wednesday, bringing the pandemic death toll to 1,873. Two of the deaths were in the Island Health region, three were in Interior Health and two were in Vancouver Coastal Health.
Neither of the deaths in the island region were related to an ongoing outbreak at a Victoria care home, according to an Island Health spokesperson.
Since the pandemic began, 58 people have died of COVID-19 in the island region.
There are 24 active outbreaks at health-care facilities across the province, including one in the Island Health region.
The outbreak at the Sunset Lodge care home in Victoria has killed six residents and infected 36 people since it was declared on Aug. 27.
Approximately 86.1 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged 12 and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 78.6 per cent have received two doses.
Health officials say that the bulk of recent COVID-19 cases in B.C. have been identified in people who are not fully vaccinated.
Between Sept. 7 and Sept. 13, people who are not vaccinated accounted for 68.4 per cent of COVID-19 cases, while people who are partially vaccinated made up 8.1 per cent of the cases.
Over the same period, 23.5 per cent of cases were confirmed in fully vaccinated people.
Health officials add that between Aug. 31 and Sept. 13, people who are not fully vaccinated accounted for 87.3 per cent of hospitalizations.
The province has now administered 7,643,973 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since it began its immunization campaign in December.
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