Vancouver Island adds 81 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths

Victoria -

B.C. health officials have confirmed 81 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Thursday.

The new cases were among 706 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours.

There are now 5,844 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 638 active cases in the island region, according to the B.C. Ministry of Health.

Island Health data identified the locations of 581 active cases Thursday, including 262 in the South Island, 258 in the Central Island and 61 in the North Island.

Twenty-four people are currently in hospital on Vancouver Island for treatment of COVID-19, including 13 people who require critical care, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Four deaths related to the illness were identified in B.C. on Thursday, including three in the Fraser Health region and one in the Northern Health region.

Since the pandemic began, 1,877 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., including 58 people in the Island Health region.

A COVID-19 outbreak at the Sunset Lodge care home in the Victoria area remains ongoing Thursday.

It is the only active outbreak at a health facility in the Island Health region, and is one of 23 outbreaks currently active across the province, according to the health ministry.

As of Thursday, approximately 86.3 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 78.8 per cent of people have received two doses.

In total, the province has administered 7,658,443 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since it began its vaccination campaign in December.