Cases of COVID-19 were on the rise in the Northern Health region, heading into the Victoria Day long weekend.
There were 31 new cases reported in the region on Friday, and the number of active cases rose by ten to 153, according to data reported by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. Nine people were hospitalized with COVID in the Northern Health region, including four in critical care.
For the first time this week, no new COVID-related deaths were reported in the Northern Health region, leaving the north's death toll from the pandemic at 149. Six of those COVID-related deaths were reported this week.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix urged British Columbians to continue to follow the current public health rules this weekend.
"This long weekend is the time to stick with all of the public health orders and travel restrictions – staying small, staying local and getting registered for your vaccine if you have not already done so," Henry and Dix said. "On Tuesday, the details of the Restart Plan will be shared with everyone. At that point, you'll be able to start to plan for what that means for you, your family and your business. There are no changes for individuals or businesses until that time."
Henry and Dix warned British Columbians not to expect all the current restrictions to be lifted at once.
"We'll be taking a gradual approach to our restart, monitoring our progress as we go to ensure cases, outbreaks and hospitalizations don't start to creep up," they said. "And, we need everyone to also do their part – this long weekend and in the weeks ahead."
All British Columbians aged 12 and older can register and book their COVID-19 vaccination appointment. To register, go online to getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca, phone1-833-838-2323 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. or visit the Service BC location located at 1044 Fifth Ave.
As of Friday, 129,357 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the Northern Health region. Of those doses, 123,410 were first doses, and 5,947 people had also received their second dose.
Northern Health's numbers don't include those doses administered by the First Nations Health Authority.
A total of 2.74 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 7,555 cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, of which 7,249 people have recovered.
