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B.C. had 634 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths, in past 24 hours

634 new cases, four deaths

British Columbia saw the largest jump in single-day COVID-19 cases since mid-January on Friday, with 634 new cases – 33 of which came from the Interior.

The new cases bring the total positive tests since the beginning of the pandemic to 83,107, but there remains 4,901 active cases. Active cases rose by 158 since Thursday.

Of these, 255 people are currently hospitalized with the disease – up seven from Thursday – 66 of whom are being treated in ICU.

In the Interior, there are currently 365 active cases. Sixteen people are being treated in hospital, seven of whom are in ICU.

Another 8,861 people across the province are self-isolating after coming into contact with a COVID-positive person.

Four more British Columbians have died from the virus, for a total of 1,380 since the beginning of the pandemic.

One new outbreak has been declared at Abbotsford's Holmberg House Hospice.

Four new “variants of concern” cases have been identified since Thursday, for a total of 250 – 222 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant and 28 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant. There remains 12 active variant of concern cases.

In the past 24 hours, 12,357 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, for a total of 311,208 doses, 86,865 of which are second doses.

“This has been a week of progress in our COVID-19 response, as we ready our province to begin our age-based immunizations and integrate the AstraZeneca-SII vaccine into our program,” Dr. Bonnie Henry said in a statement.

“Building on this momentum, the federal government approved a fourth COVID-19 vaccine today. The newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine is another tool in our immunization program that will help accelerate protection of people throughout our province.

“Starting on Monday, vaccine appointment bookings for people over 90 and Indigenous people over 65 will get underway, with appointments available in communities provincewide.”



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