Vancouver Island adds 71 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths

Another 71 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Vancouver Island region on Tuesday, according to the B.C. Ministry of Health.

The cases were among 326 new cases of COVID-19 found in B.C. over the past 24 hours.

There are currently 2,814 active cases of COVID-19 across the province, according to the Health Ministry, including 591 active cases in the Island Health region.

Island Health continues to have the second-highest number of active COVID-19 cases, behind the Fraser Health region where 930 cases are active Tuesday.

Island Health data identified the locations of 518 active cases Tuesday, including 80 in the South Island, 214 in the Central Island and 224 in the North Island.

Health officials say one COVID-19-related death was reported in B.C. over the past 24 hours in the Northern Health region.

Since the pandemic began, 2,363 people have died of the illness in B.C., including 124 deaths reported in the Island Health region.

In the island region, 37 people are currently in hospital for treatment of COVID-19, including six patients who require critical care, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

As of Tuesday, 85.6 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 82 per cent have received two doses.

From Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 made up 54.8 per cent of the province's new cases.

Between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5, unvaccinated people also accounted for 59.3 per cent of B.C.'s COVID-19-related hospitalizations.