Vancouver Island leading the province in new COVID-19 cases

One more person died of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Friday as health officials announced 127 new cases of the disease in Island Health.

The new cases were among 437 cases found across the province Friday, according to the B.C. Health Ministry.

For the second day in a row, the island region has recorded more new COVID-19 cases than any other region in the province. Fraser Health identified 105 new cases Friday, while Vancouver Coastal Health added 90 new cases, Interior Health recorded 93 new cases and Northern Health added 22 cases.

There are now 2,994 active cases of COVID-19 across the province, including 664 active cases in the Island Health region.

Island Health data identified the locations of 564 active cases Friday, including 145 in the South Island, 200 in the Central Island and 219 in the North Island.

Island Health continues to have the second-highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the province, behind the Fraser Health region where 871 cases are currently active.

Three more COVID-19 deaths were reported in B.C. on Friday, including one death in the Island Health region, one in Vancouver Coastal Health and one in Fraser Health.

Since the pandemic began, 2,381 people have died of the illness in B.C., including 131 deaths in the island region.

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

As of Friday, 86 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 82.2 per cent have received two doses.

There have been 222,013 cases of COVID-19 recorded in B.C. since the pandemic began.

The province announced Friday it has now identified 10 cases of the Omicron variant in B.C., including in the Island, Vancouver Coastal, and Fraser health regions.