B.C. Covid update Wednesday: 997 new cases, one death tied to VJH outbreak

Apr 7, 2021 | 3:39 PM

B.C. is reporting another 997 Covid-19 cases, which is just slightly higher than the province’s seven-day average (993).

Interior Health had 91 of the new cases (9.1 per cent), with 356 in Vancouver Coastal Health (35.7 per cent), 465 in Fraser Health (46.6 per cent), 67 in Island Health (6.7 per cent), 18 in Northern Health (1.8 per cent) and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There have been two new Covid-related deaths, for a total of 1,491.

The outbreak at Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s Level 3 surgical unit has 14 cases, up one from Tuesday, with 10 patients and four staff, and one death connected to the outbreak.

The outbreak at Kelowna General Hospital unit 5B has been declared over, while the one in unit 4E has two cases: one patient and one staff.

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Active cases in B.C. are up to 8,728, with 330 of those in hospital and 105 in intensive care.

There are currently 3,766 confirmed variant cases with 266 active cases.This includes 2,837 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 51 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 878 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.

To date, 946,096 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,504 of which are second doses. This is almost 20 per cent of those who are eligible for a vaccine in B.C.

“The Get Vaccinated online vaccine registration and booking system for B.C.’s age-based immunization program is open for everyone to register and then later book their vaccine appointment when eligible. More than 305,000 people have registered so far,” said a statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

People 70 and older, Indigenous peoples 18 and over, and individuals who have received their ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ letter may book appointments.

Henry said the parallel, worker-focused program remains a priority, and scheduling of vaccines will resume as more vaccine becomes available.

“Today, the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations provided clear advice on vaccine doses, confirming that up to 16 weeks between doses provides for the greatest level of community-wide protection and is therefore optimal for everyone, irrespective of any underlying health condition,” Henry stated.

by Pete McIntyre

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