Three more deaths in the Northern Health region have been attributed to COVID-19, as of Tuesday.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 15 COVID-19-related deaths in the region on Tuesday, up from 12 on Monday. A spokesperson for Northern Health said the three additional deaths reported weren't new deaths over the past 24-hour period, but previous deaths which now have been confirmed to be COVID-19 related. A woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s were two of the deaths now attributed to COVID-19.
With a total of 15 COVID-19 deaths, the Northern Health region has had as many people die of COVID-19 as the Interior Health region and Vancouver Island Health region combined – despite having roughly a third the population of either of those regions as of 2018, according to BC Stats.
In a joint, written statement issued on Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said there were 21 new COVID-19-related deaths in the province on Tuesday, bringing the province's death toll from the pandemic to 668.
"We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic," Henry and Dix said. "Today, we are reporting 522 new cases of COVID-19, including eight epi-linked cases, for a total of 43,463 cases in British Columbia. There are 9,860 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 361 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 93 of whom are in intensive care."
The number of active cases and hospitalizations in the north wasn't provided, but on Tuesday the B.C. CDC reported 367 active cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, down from a peak of 421 on Friday. There were 48 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Northern Health region on Tuesday, including 18 in intensive care.
The number of people hospitalized rose by two from Monday's update.
As of Sunday, Northern Health had the highest positivity rate for COVID-19 tests in British Columbia. The seven-day rolling average in the north was 10.6 per cent – more than one positive test out of every 10 administered – compared to the B.C. average of 6.6 per cent.
So far this month, between 194 and 484 COVID-19 tests per day have been conducted in the Northern Health region, with only two days having less than 300 tests performed.
On Tuesday, the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in the British Columbia at clinics in the Lower Mainland. The vaccine will be available in all regions of the province by next week, Henry said on Monday. See story, here.
Health care and long-term care workers will be the first eligible to receive the vaccine as it becomes available.
"With immunizations now underway, those who are most vulnerable to severe illness have one more layer of protection that will get stronger as each new person gets immunized," Henry and Dix said. "Even as we look to brighter days ahead, we must remember that the pandemic is far from over. No one wants to experience the tragedy of losing a loved one when this day of hope is upon us. So let's make Dec. 15 a day for doing all we can to protect our communities and the people we care for most."
