The COVID-19 pandemic claimed another life in the Northern Health region over the weekend, as B.C. hit a vaccination milestone.
The death in the north was one of 11 from across the province reported by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Monday. As of Monday, COVID-19 has claimed 153 lives in the Northern Health region.
Details about the person who died weren't provided, but Henry said one of the 11 people was in their 40s, two were in their 60s, six were in their 70s and two were over 80.
On a positive note, Henry announced that as of Monday, more than three million British Columbians had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. As of Monday, a total of 3.25 million doses have been administered in the province, including 3.07 million first doses and 179,954 second doses.
In the Northern Health region, a total of 146,919 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, including 137,873 first doses and 9,046 second doses, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Roughly 66.1 per cent of B.C.'s eligible population – everyone ages 12 and up – has now had at least one dose, Henry said. As of Sunday, 60 per cent of adults in the Prince George local health area had been vaccinated, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
"(And) this weekend over 300,000 (people) have either received or booked their second dose," she said. "We've seen a dramatic decline in cases. (But) new strains are circulating and outbreaks are still happening."
Henry urged anyone who hasn't registered to get their vaccine, or isn't sure if they are registered, to go online to getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca. Residents can also register by calling 1-833-838-2323 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily, or visit the the Service BC centre located at 1044 Fifth Ave.
If you are unsure if you are registered, there is no issues caused by registering twice, Henry said. The system will tell you if you are already registered, she said.
The Northern Health region saw a small uptick in COVID-19 cases over the weekend, with 42 new cases diagnosed between Saturday and Monday. The number of active cases went up by seven from Friday, to 117.
The number of people hospitalized in the region with COVID-19 doubled from five to 10, with seven of those people in critical care.
Since the start of the pandemic there have been 7,683 cases of COVID-19 in the north, of which 7,411 people have recovered.
