Vancouver Island records 3 more COVID-19 deaths, 65 new cases

Three more people in the Vancouver Island region have died of COVID-19, while 65 new cases were discovered in the region, health officials announced Wednesday.

The new cases were among 379 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours, the B.C. Health Ministry said in a statement.

There are now 2,874 active cases of COVID-19 across the province, including 595 active cases in the Island Health region.

Island Health data identified the locations of 476 active cases Wednesday, including 76 in the South Island, 195 in the Central Island and 205 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 924 cases are currently active.

Six COVID-19 deaths were reported in B.C. on Wednesday, including three deaths in the Island Health region, two in the Fraser Health region and one in the Northern Health region.

Since the pandemic began, 2,369 people have died of the illness in B.C., including 127 deaths in the island region.

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

As of Wednesday, 85.8 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 82.1 per cent have received two doses.