Four new deaths in Northern Health, as BC COVID-19 hospitalizations rise

Northern Health is reporting 86 new COVID-19 cases, but in the past 24 hours there have been an additional four new deaths in the region.

There are now 606 total active cases in the region.

Provincewide, B.C. is reporting 406 new cases of COVID-19 with 4,694 active cases. Of the active cases, 455 individuals are in hospital and 137 are in intensive care.

The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

The seven-day average for new infections up to yesterday was 539, so today's total of 406 is small in comparison. Yesterday, only 332 new COVID-19 infections were detected – the lowest number since August 9.

However deaths continue to rack up, with five additional COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours. 

The new deaths included one in Interior Health, with the other four occurring in in Northern Health.

Glacier Media broke down the 406 infections detected in the past day by health region, for each 10,000 residents (with total new cases in brackets).
• 0.7 in Fraser Health (133);
• 0.3 in Vancouver Coastal Health (41);
• 1.3 in Interior Health (95);
• 2.9 in Northern Health (86); and
• 0.6 in Island Health (51).

There were no new infections among people who normally do not reside in Canada.

The result by health region, for the 4,694 people fighting active infections, for each 10,000 residents (with total new cases in brackets) is:
•  12 in Fraser Health (2,157);
•  4.9 in Vancouver Coastal Health (607);
•  8.3 in Interior Health (613);
•  20.2 in Northern Health (606); and
•  7.7 in Island Health (652).

Health Minister Adrian Dix tweeted that 117 of the 137 people now in ICUs are unvaccinated, four are partially vaccinated, and the remaining 16 are fully vaccinated. Only two of those in ICU who are aged younger than 60 years are fully vaccinated, whereas 63 are unvaccinated and one is partially vaccinated. 

Those stats are merely the latest showing that it is the unvaccinated that are propelling the province's fourth wave of the pandemic, and underscoring why it is important to get vaccinated. 

Across B.C., 90 per cent of eligible people older than 12 have had at least one dose of vaccine, with 85.4 per cent of eligible people having had two doses, according to the B.C. government.

Of the 4,171,944 B.C. residents who have received one dose of vaccine since mid-December, 2020, 94.9%, or 3,958,398, are considered fully vaccinated, with two doses. Last week, the government said 90,425 British Columbians had received third doses of vaccine. No update to that number was provided today. 

Only 1,958 B.C. residents received initial doses of a vaccine in the past day, with that being the lowest number since October 1. Another 4,330 British Columbians received second doses of vaccine in the past day.

Two new health-care facility outbreaks are at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. The province has a total of 41 active outbreaks at health-care facilities and seniors' homes.

- with files from Glen Kortstrom, Glacier Media