Active cases of COVID-19 continued to rise in the north, as provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced new public health orders in the Interior Health region to try to curb outbreaks there.
On Friday the B.C. Ministry of Health reported 38 new cases in the Northern Health region, boosting the number of active cases in the region to 254. Seven people in northern B.C. were hospitalized with COVID-19, five of whom were in intensive care, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
One new COVID-related death was reported in B.C. on Friday, in the Fraser Health region, bringing the province’s death toll from the pandemic to 1,785 – including 160 residents of the Northern Health region.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 8,264 cases of COVID-19 in the north, of which 7,845 people have recovered.
On Friday, Northern Health said it is continuing to work with Trans Mountain to manage a cluster of cases reported at the company’s work camp near Valemount.
As of Friday, 32 cases were linked to the cluster, of which 24 were still active, a statement issued by Northern Health said.
“Case and contact management efforts continue to suggest the majority of infections were not acquired at the site,” the statement said. “Public health continues to investigate any potential onsite transmission of illness, and may recommend additional measures to prevent further spread, if necessary.”
Earlier this week, Northern Health declared an outbreak at the BC Hydro Site C dam work camp near Fort St. John, after 41 cases were reported there.
As of Friday, 83 per cent of eligible British Columbians (ages 12 and up) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 74.3 per cent were fully vaccinated. Nearly 7.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province, including 317,197 in the north.
Throughout B.C., a total of 663 new COVID cases were reported on Friday, bringing the number of active cases in province up to 6,345 – of which 3,504 are in the Interior Health region. A total of 129 people in B.C. were hospitalized with COVID-19, of which 59 were in intensive care.
Since the start of the pandemic there have been 158,919 cases in the province, of which 150,657 people have now recovered.
