COVID-19 in B.C.: Over 800 new cases; 11 deaths; hospitalized and active cases increase; and more

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      Today, active cases increased overall, and in all health regions, except for Northern Health, and hospitalized cases also grew.

      Fraser Health, where new restrictions were announced yesterday due to rapidly rising case numbers, had over 300 new cases today.

      There are also a notable number deaths, with the most occurring in Vancouver Coastal Health.

      B.C. update: September 29

      Again, the B.C. Health Ministry stated that today’s numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh.

      Today, the B.C. Health Ministry is reporting 813 new COVID-19 cases.

      Active increased by 193 cases since yesterday to a new total of 6,185 active cases today.  

      The new and active cases include:

      • 303 new cases in Fraser Health, with 2,316 total active cases (67 more cases than yesterday);
      • 208 new cases in Interior Health, with 1,281 total active cases (105 more cases);
      • 118 new cases in Northern Health, with 915 total active cases (14 fewer cases than yesterday);
      • 102 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, with 911 total active cases (eight more cases);
      • 82 new cases in Island Health, with 704 total active cases (27 more cases);
      • no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada, with 58 total active cases (same number as yesterday).

      With 24 more cases than yesterday, 340 individuals are in hospital today, and 146 of those patients are in intensive care units (five more than yesterday).

      Tragically, 11 new deaths have been reported, including five in Vancouver Coastal Health, three in Island Health, two in Fraser Health, and one in Northern Health. The overall total fatalities is now at 1,953 people who have died.

      With 616 recoveries since yesterday, an overall total of 177,729 people who tested positive have now recovered.

      B.C. has reported a cumulative total of 186,245 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.

      B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry
      Province of British Columbia

      Vaccinations

      Since December, B.C. has administered 7,831,229 doses of Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines.

      As of today, 87.9 percent (4,074,112) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 80.8% (3,745,457) have received their second dose.

      In addition, 88.4 percent (3,823,614) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 81.6 percent (3,529,426) have received their second dose.

      People not fully vaccinated accounted for 71.9 percent of COVID-19 cases from September 21 to 27 and they accounted for 80.8 percent of hospitalizations from September 14 to 27.

      After factoring for age, people not vaccinated are 24.6 times more likely to be hospitalized than those fully vaccinated.

      Outbreaks and exposures

      Currently there are 22 active outbreaks in healthcare facilities.

      The B.C. Health Ministry stated that Interior Health has declared one new outbreak at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops while declaring two outbreaks over at Hillside Village in Salmon Arm and Village at Mill Creek in Kelowna.

      Northern Health provided further details about outbreaks included in yesterday’s update. At the outbreak at Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton that was declared yesterday, four patients had tested positive. Also, the outbreak declared over at the inpatient unit at the Fort St. John Hospital (originally declared on August 27) involved seven cases—four patients and three staff—and one of the patients died.

      Meanwhile, Sobeys listed one staff member testing positive at Safeway who last worked on September 21 at 697 Bernard Avenue in Kelowna.

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at @cinecraig or on Facebook.

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