Vancouver Island adds record-breaking 566 cases of COVID-19

Health officials confirmed a record-breaking 566 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Wednesday.

The new cases were among 3,798 cases identified across B.C. over the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

There are now 29,967 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 3,631 active cases in Island Health, a record high for the region.

Sixty-one people are currently in hospital for treatment of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including 14 patients in critical care, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Earlier Wednesday, Island Health announced that COVID-19 outbreaks had been declared at five long-term care homes in Victoria and Nanaimo.

No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported in B.C. over the past 24 hours, leaving the province's pandemic death toll to stand at 2,427.

Since the pandemic began, 145 people have died of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region.

VACCINATION IN B.C.

As of Wednesday, approximately 88.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83 per cent have received two doses.

Across B.C., 21.5 per cent of eligible B.C. residents have received a third dose of vaccine.

According to the Health Ministry, people who are fully vaccinated accounted for 83.8 per cent of new COVID-19 cases confirmed across the province between Dec. 28 and Jan. 3.

Meanwhile, people who are not fully vaccinated accounted for 16.2 per cent of new cases.

However, unvaccinated people still accounted for roughly half of the province's COVID-19-related hospitalizations, despite making up a small portion of B.C.'s overall population.

Between Dec. 21 and Jan. 3, people who are fully vaccinated made up 48.6 per cent of hospitalizations related to the illness, while people who are not fully vaccinated accounted for 50.4 per cent.