Vancouver Island reports 475 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
B.C. health officials have confirmed 475 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Island region Friday.
The new cases were among 3,144 cases found across the province over the past 24 hours.
There are now 33,184 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including a record-setting 3,906 active cases in the Island Health region, according to a statement from the Health Ministry.
Fifty-nine people are currently in hospital for treatment of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, including 13 patients in critical care, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Nine deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the province Friday, including two in the island region.
Since the pandemic began, 2,439 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C., including 147 in the Island Health region.
B.C. VACCINE UPDATE
As of Friday, 88.5 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83.1 per cent have received two doses.
Across the province, 25.2 per cent of eligible B.C. residents have received three doses of vaccine Friday.
Over the last week, people who are fully vaccinated accounted for most new cases of COVID-19 in the province.
According to the Ministry of Health, fully vaccinated people made up 82.8 per cent of confirmed cases in B.C. between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5.
Meanwhile, people who are not fully vaccinated accounted for 17.1 per cent of cases over the same period.
However, health officials say that vaccination, in general, protects people from severe illness when they are infected with COVID-19.
Speaking at a live update Friday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said "the illness is very mild" for people who are fully vaccinated.
She also reiterated that the isolation period for people who are fully vaccinated has been brought down to five days, instead of seven, so long as they are no longer feeling symptoms and do not have a fever.
"If you have those mild symptoms, whether it’s a runny nose or cough, and you've been out in connection with other people, it's very likely you have COVID," she said.
"What you need to do is stay at home and stay away from other people."
At the same briefing, Health Minister Adrian Dix said test positivity rates were high but stable in B.C.
He said test positivity was about 24 per cent over the past week, up from roughly three percent in early December.
BACK TO SCHOOL
B.C. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside joined health officials for a live update on students' return to the K-12 system on Monday.
Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said that several additional health measures are in place, such as mandatory mask use and staggered class times, to limit the spread of COVID-19 at schools.
Another shipment of COVID-19 rapid tests is also expected to arrive in B.C. next week, and health officials say many of those test kits will be reserved for teachers and staff at schools.
B.C.'s top doctor also announced a new health order Friday that requires businesses to implement COVID-19 safety plans, similar to what was required in the early days of the pandemic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.