Active cases of COVID-19 in Northern Health have crept up for a second day in a row, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
As of midday Thursday, the count stood at 401, a rise of 16 from the day before. A record 421 was reached last Friday before declining to 367 as of Tuesday.
Forty-seven new cases were reported, while hospitalizations rose by three to 47 and the number of patients in intensive care held steady at 19.
No new deaths were reported, keeping the total at 15 since the pandemic broke out.
At 10.2 positive results out of 100 cases and based on a seven-day rolling average, the positivity rate for Northern Health remained the highest in the province for the 14th day in a row as of Wednesday. The average for the province is 6.1 per cent.
B.C.-wide, 21 more deaths were confirmed raising the total to 713 while active cases rose by 59 to 10,009.
Hospitalizations declined by four to 358 but the number in intensive care went up by two to 93.
Also on Wednesday, two more schools in Prince George were added to Northern Health's exposure list: Shas Ti Kelly Road Secondary School for an exposure during December 7-11 and St. Mary's Catholic School for December 7-10.
It was the third time Northern Health has issued a notification for St. Mary's. The first was for December 1-3 and the second for December 3-4.
As for Shas Ti Kelly Road, it was the second. The first was for November 30-December 2.
- Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed that 1,215 health-care workers have received their first doses of the vaccine from Pfizer Inc.and BioNTech SE as of Wednesday
“That is a great testament to the works of the public health clinics and to the health-care workers who have stepped up to do their best,” she said during a Thursday media briefing.
Henry added that more weekly shipments are expected to arrive next week, however, she could not provide an estimate on how many doses B.C. will receive. The first shipment, delivered late Sunday, amounted to 3,900 doses.
“It is a moving target and we are receiving updates about the amount of vaccine and when it will be received - sometimes multiple times a day,” Henry said. “Things are rapidly changing and timings will be provided as soon as they are confirmed.”
Vaccines have been administered at two locations in B.C. since vaccinations started Tuesday. Both locations are in the Lower Mainland - one in the Vancouver Coastal Health Region and one in the Fraser Health Region - but Henry said the province plans on rolling out vaccinations throughout all provincial health regions beginning next week.
- with files from Glacier Media
