Vancouver Island records 1 more COVID-19 death, 72 new cases

Victoria -

One more person in the Vancouver Island region has died as health officials identified 72 new cases of COVID-19 in the region Thursday.

The new cases were among 468 cases found across British Columbia over the past 24 hours, according to the provincial Health Ministry.

There are now 3,345 active cases of the disease in B.C., including 460 active cases in the Island Health region.

Island Health data identified the locations of 349 active cases Thursday, including 79 in the South Island, 199 in the Central Island and 71 in the North Island.

Nine COVID-19-related deaths were recorded in the province Thursday, including one in the Vancouver Island region. Five other deaths were reported in Fraser Health, two in Northern Health and one in Interior Health.

As of Thursday, 51 people were in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including 14 patients in critical care, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Outbreaks of the disease are ongoing at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and the Chartwell Malaspina Care Residence, in Nanaimo, B.C.

Since the pandemic began, 2,290 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., including 117 deaths in the Island Health region.

Approximately 90.9 per cent of eligible British Columbians have now received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 87 per cent have received two doses.