COVID-19: BC reports 525 new cases and death toll reaches 1,900 | The Canadian News

An additional 525 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in British Columbia, along with one death, provincial health officials said Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 51 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 187 in the Fraser Health region, 61 in Island Health, 147 in Interior Health, and 79 in Northern Health.

The number of people hospitalized with the disease rose to 332, an increase of 25 since Monday. Of those patients, 155 are in intensive care, a decrease of one.

The single death in the Vancouver Coastal Health region brings the death toll from COVID-19 in BC to 1,900.

There have been 180,171 cases in British Columbia since the start of the pandemic, of which 5,282 are active.

The province said the total and new case numbers are provisional due to a delayed data update and will be verified once confirmed.

87 percent of eligible British Columbia citizens age 12 and older have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 79.5 percent have received two doses, the province said.

Earlier in the day, Provincial Health Official Dr. Bonnie Henry encouraged people who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Henry said 40 pregnant women have received intensive care in the province in recent months, and while that group of people was not included in clinical trials, real-life evidence shows that vaccination prevents serious illness and hospitalization.

He said there is no increased risk of complications for vaccinated pregnant women or their baby, and international data show no difference in rates of miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth or other adverse effects.

Health Minister Adrian Dix also said that some patients in the Northern Health region are being transferred to other parts of the province.

Twelve patients from the Northern Health region, nine of whom tested positive for COVID-19, were transported to the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

Dix said he knows it is difficult for patients, their families and loved ones, “but it is a necessary step to ease the pressure in the northern region.”

– with files from Amy Judd and The Canadian Press

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