The British writer C.S. Lewis once wrote this evocative passage in A Grief Observed: "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. The death of a beloved is an amputation."

This feeling is gripping more B.C. families after another 32 people died from COVID-19-related complications over the past three days.

It brings the number of fatalities up to 91 in the first seven days of February that the province has been reporting these numbers.

That works out to 13 per day this month. For the first time, B.C. has surpassed 2,700 officially recorded deaths from COVID-19.

Fourteen of the recent 32 deaths were in Vancouver Coastal Health; another nine were in Fraser Health; five occurred in Island Health, three in Interior Health, and one in Northern Health. 

In addition to the deaths, here are 987 COVID-positive people in B.C. hospitals, including 141 in intensive care.

According to the B.C. government, the number of new cases fell to 843 on February 6-7, down from 1,326 cases on February 4-5. However, the number of positive tests is not believed to reflect the total caseload because people not at high risk of complications have been advised not to get tested if they're showing mild symptoms.

However, they are being urged to seek treatment if their symptoms become serious.

Late last month, B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, suggested that the province might lift restrictions on social gatherings because 90 percent of B.C. residents over 12 have received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Today, the province revealed that 84.6 percent of eligible people five and older have received their second dose.