The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Northern Health have dropped below another milestone.
The count on that front stood at 93, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported in an update Tuesday, the first time since early November that the number has been below triple figures.
Just two new cases were reported, raising the total since the pandemic broke out to 7,685 while no new deaths were recorded in Northern Health and in B.C. as a whole.
Ten people were hospitalized with six in intensive care in Northern Health.
Vaccinations administered in the region stood at 148,810, up 1,891 since last reported. The number does not include those administered by the First Nations Health Authority.
Roughly 290,000 people live in the region.
Although a massive improvement over the 500-plus active cases Northern Health was dealing with at the start of this year, Tuesday's total is still a far cry from the zero cases the region enjoyed for much of June last year.
The first death from the virus was recorded for the region on Sept. 14 as the pandemic began to take hold. By November, officials in Northern Health began to worry as active cases were doubling every two weeks.
On Tuesday, Fraser Health continued to be a trouble spot accounting for 1,520 of the 2,800 active cases in B.C.
In a joint statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and health minister Adrian Dix said the National Advisory Committee on Immunization confirmed the safety and effectiveness of interchanging vaccines and reaffirmed the recommendation to prioritize second doses for those at highest risk of severe illness and death.
"More specifically, NACI advises people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca COVISHIELD vaccine may safely receive either the same vaccine or an mRNA vaccine for their second dose," they said. "Additionally, people who received a first dose of one type of mRNA vaccine may safely receive another mRNA vaccine for their second dose."
More information on how that will affect the province's vaccine rollout will be provided on this later this week, they said.
"The more people who are fully vaccinated, the less risk there is that the virus can spread in our communities, and the more quickly we'll be able to confidently put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. Let's keep moving forward."
