There are now 95,677 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C. after health officials announced 908 new cases Friday.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there have been 294 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 438 in the Fraser Health region, 55 in the Island Health region, 43 in the Interior Health region, 78 in the Northern Health Region and no new cases from people who reside outside of Canada.
There have been 140 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in B.C., for a total of 1,912 cases. Of the total cases, 258 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 1,666 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 47 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 199 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.
“To date, 637,856 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,233 of which are second doses," said Henry.
Vaccine appointment bookings are now open for people 74 or older and Indigenous peoples over 55. Starting on Monday, individuals who are clinically extreme vulnerability and have received a letter identifying them as such can also book their vaccine appointments.
There have been three new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,449 deaths in British Columbia.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 294 individuals are hospitalized, 81 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
There are 6,245 active cases of COVID-19 with 9,996 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases; 87,866 people who tested positive have recovered.
"We are facing a sustained increase in clusters of new cases and outbreaks."
While we are in a different stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, Henry said that "we are facing a sustained increase in clusters of new cases and outbreaks, including increasing cases caused by variants of concern."
Henry added that "This is particularly concerning in the Lower Mainland areas" and requires us to remain vigilant with safety measures.
“We can be outside with the same small group of people, but gathering inside is high risk for all of us. We can soon see our Elders and seniors in care, but we must follow the safety protocols that remain in place," she explained.
“Seeing different friends on different days – even if we are outside – is unsafe. So is gathering in our homes where the layers of protection, like physical barriers and masks, are not used.
“Social connections and the sharing of a meal or a hug is important for us all, yet we must be vigilant that our need for those connections doesn’t put ourselves or those we care about in harm’s way. Rather, step away from our screens and step outside with our small core group of close contacts.
“This weekend, choose to be safe, choose to stay small and choose to continue to do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our province.”
Truckers to haul 1.5m AstraZeneca doses to Canada by Tuesday amid Moderna delays
Fleets of trucks are due to deliver 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca plc COVID-19 vaccine to Canada by Tuesday amid ongoing shipping delays from competing manufacturer Moderna Inc.
Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand confirmed the exact arrival date of the AstraZeneca doses Friday following uncertainty just a day earlier.
“We are now seeing that supply surge and it is set to continue,” she said during a virtual briefing, referring to next week’s 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca and the one million doses of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine due to arrive weekly until the end of May.
Despite the impending deliveries of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, Moderna’s 590,000 doses due to arrive this weekend are facing a delay of “a few days” that Anand said is related to quality assurance issues.
With files from the Canadian Press.
