The COVID-19 pandemic claimed four lives in the Northern Health region over the weekend.
The deaths increased the region’s death toll from the pandemic to 245, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Monday.
A total of 197 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the north over the weekend. As of Monday, there were 528 active cases of COVID in the Northern Health region, up by 30 from Friday.
The number of people hospitalized in the region was also up, with 48 Northern Health residents hospitalized with COVID-19, including 18 listed in critical care. On Friday, 42 northerners were hospitalized with COVID-19, of which 17 were listed as in critical care.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 17,189 cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, of which 16,386 people have recovered.
A total of 402,755 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the north, as of Monday.
As of Nov. 18, 87 per cent of eligible people (ages 12 and up) in the Prince George local health area had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 81 per cent were fully vaccinated.
However, in other parts of the north, the vaccination rate was much lower. In the Peace River North, Peace River South and Fort Nelson local health areas, only 60 to 64 per cent of eligible people were fully vaccinated.