Vancouver Island records 3 more COVID-19 deaths
Three more people in the Vancouver Island region died of COVID-19 over the weekend, among 22 deaths recorded across the province since Friday.
The update Monday from the Health Ministry puts the province's pandemic death toll at 2,490, including 155 deaths in the island region.
Nine of the deaths recorded over the weekend were in the Fraser Health region, six were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and four were recorded in the Interior.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
There are currently 60 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, representing a month-over-month increase since Dec. 17, when 42 people were in hospital with the disease on the island.
However, the number of hospitalizations is down from one week ago, when 64 patients were in hospital with COVID-19, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Critical care admissions have also dropped, with 10 people currently in the ICU for treatment of COVID-19 compared to 13 patients last Monday and 14 patients on Dec. 17.
NEW CASES
There were 5,625 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in B.C. over the weekend, including 681 new cases in the island region.
Across the province, 2,383 cases were recorded Saturday, 1,733 were recorded Sunday and 1,509 were identified on Monday.
Heath officials say daily case counts are only a fraction of B.C.'s total number of suspected cases, since testing capacity is at its limits.
However, the province says confirmed cases are still an indicator of transmission rate trends in the population.
There are currently 35,985 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 2,068 active cases in the island region.
VACCINATION RATES
Approximately 89.2 per cent of eligible B.C. residents aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83.4 per cent have received two doses.
Meanwhile, 33.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians (12 and older) have received three doses of vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Worry, buyer's remorse high as real estate market slowdown materializes
A wave of buyer's remorse is taking shape in several heated real estate markets, after housing prices started dropping and the number of sales slowed over the last two months.

'Most horrific': Alberta First Nation investigating after remains of children found
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is 'actively researching and investigating' the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
War wounds: Limbs lost and lives devastated in an instant in Ukraine
There is a cost to war — to the countries that wage it, to the soldiers who fight it, to the civilians who endure it. For nations, territory is gained and lost, and sometimes regained and lost again. But some losses are permanent. Lives lost can never be regained. Nor can limbs. And so it is in Ukraine.
'Please' before 'cheese': Answers to your royal etiquette questions
Etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau answers your questions about how to address the royal couple, how to dress if you're meeting them, and whether or not you can ask for a selfie.
First transgender federal party leader calls for national anti-trans hate strategy
The Green Party of Canada is calling on the federal government to develop a targeted anti-transgender hate strategy, citing a 'rising tide of hate' both in Canada and abroad. Amita Kuttner, who is Canada's first transgender federal party leader, made the call during a press conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
Canadians in the dark about how their data is collected and used, report finds
A new report says digital technology has become so widespread at such a rapid pace that Canadians have little idea what information is being collected about them or how it is used.
Poilievre personally holds investment in Bitcoin as he promotes crypto to Canadians
Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has a personal financial interest in cryptocurrencies that he has promoted during his campaign as a hedge against inflation.
Finland, Sweden officially apply for NATO membership
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests.
Ukrainian soldiers exiting Mariupol steel mill face interrogation, uncertainty
Russia said Wednesday that nearly 1,000 Ukrainian troops at a giant steelworks in Mariupol have surrendered, abandoning their dogged defence of a site that became a symbol of their country's resistance, as the battle in the strategic port city appeared all but over.