The number of patients who have tested positive for novel coronoavirus now stands at 11 in the Northern Health region, B.C. public health officer Bonnie Henry says.
That's an increase of two from Wednesday. But Henry said five of the patients in Northern Health have fully recovered.
Specific communities where the patients reside were not provided but Henry said they are a mixture of travel-related and community transmission in the region.
For the province as a whole, the count rose by 66 to 725 over the last 24 hours, with 359 in the Vancouver Coast Health Authority, 251 in Fraser Health, 52 on Vancouver Island and 62 in Interior Health.
The number in hospital stands at 66, up by two, while the number in intensive care holds steady at 26.
One hundred and eighty-six have fully recovered, up by three. The number of deaths held steady at 14.
Health minister Adrian Dix said occupancy of hospital beds provincewide stands at 63.6 per cent, compared to 103.5 per cent that is typical this time of year during flu season. Critical care occupancy stands at 54.8 per cent, he said.
Despite the marginal uptick in the number of hospitalizations, Henry urged people to avoid complacency and continue to practice social distancing.
"We're still very much in the first incubation period since we put in these restrictions," she said.
