VICTORIA -- Health officials announced a new case of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island Thursday, bringing the region's total caseload to 159 infections since the pandemic began.
There are nine active cases of the coronavirus in the Island Health region Thursday.
The newest case was discovered in the southern Vancouver Island region, according to Island Health data. The region includes Greater Victoria, the Saanich Peninsula, Port Renfrew and the Southern Gulf Islands.
All of the Island Health region's cases over the past month have been the result of community exposures or close links to existing cases.
There have been 58 cases of COVID-19 in the South Island region since the pandemic began, with the most recent confirmed symptoms reported three days ago.
Meanwhile, the North Island region has recorded 60 cases of the virus with no symptoms detected in a patient for 15 days.
The Central Island region, which includes the communities of Tofino, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Parksville, Lake Cowichan and Duncan, has recorded 41 cases of the virus, with the last symptom onset in a lab-diagnosed patient reported six days ago.
Five people in the Island Health region have died since the pandemic began, while the provincewide death toll reached 200 on Thursday with the addition of two more deaths in the Fraser Health region.
There have been 46,101 COVID-19 tests administered by Island Health as of Thursday afternoon. Of the region's 159 cases, 155 were confirmed in a lab, while four were epidemiologically linked to other cases but no test was administered.
A total of 145 people who contracted the virus in the Island Health region have recovered, according to the province.
