COVID-19 update for March 18: 199 new cases reported, six deaths | Airline industry happy to see end of COVID testing requirements for Canadians |

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Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the coronavirus situation in BC for March 18, 2022.

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We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in BC right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.

Check back here for more updates throughout the day. You can also get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 pm by subscribing to our newsletter here.

BC’S COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS

Here are the latest figures given on March 17:

• Total number of confirmed cases: 353,379
• New cases: 240
• Total deaths: 2,960 (seven in the past 24 hours)
• Hospitalized cases: 298
• Intensive care: 49
• Total vaccinations: 4,524,095 received first dose (90.8% of eligible pop. 5+); 4,330,237 second doses (86.9%); 2,633,652 third doses (56.8% of those 12+)
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: Eight

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A FONDO: Here are all the BC cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021 | in 2020

BC GUIDES AND LINKS

• COVID-19: BC’s vaccine passport is here and this is how it works

• COVID-19: Afraid of needles? Here’s how to overcome your fear and get vaccinated

• COVID-19: Here’s where to get tested in Metro Vancouver

• BC COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

LATEST NEWS on COVID-19 in BC

3 pm New case numbers released.

BC reported 199 new cases on Friday, along with six deaths.

There are 290 people hospitalized with Covid-19 in BC and 46 of those are receiving treatment in intensive care.

There are now 353,578 Covid-19 cases in the province.

Five of the six deaths were in the Island health region and one was in Fraser health.

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The government update said: “There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreak at Sidney Care Home (Island Health) has been declared over, for a total of seven facilities with ongoing outbreaks.

“From March 10-16, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 17.2% of cases. From March 3-16, they accounted for 26.2% of hospitalizations.”

Airline industry happy to see end of COVID testing requirements for Canadians

Vaccinated travelers will no longer need a negative COVID test to get into Canada, but rules around masking and vaccines are staying in place for now.

The federal government confirmed Thursday the new rules will start April 1 and will mark the first time in two years Canadians have been able to travel and return without any testing or mandatory requirement.

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Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the country is past the Omicron wave and Canadians have done their part.

“We are in a much better position now in March 2022 than we were in March 2020. High vaccination rates and strong adherence to public health measures have pushed us through the peak of the Omicron wave,” he said.

The new rules remove the requirement for travelers to get a COVID test before they return to Canada. The government had previously removed the requirement for testing on arrival. Travelers will still have to use the ArriveCan app to upload their vaccine information.

Read full story here.

—The National Post

Seven more deaths Thursday, hospitalizations drop below 300

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in BC dropped below 300 for the first time all year on Thursday.

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Health officials reported 298 people in hospital with the coronavirus, including 49 in intensive care. That number had peaked at just over 1,000 during the height of the Omicron wave in late January.

Seven more people were reported to have died from COVID-19, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 2,960.

An outbreak at Greenwoods long-term care home on Salt Spring Island has been declared over, dropping the number of active outbreaks across the province to eight.

—Joseph Ruttle

DEATHS BY HEALTH AUTHORITY

WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS CANADA

LOCAL RESOURCES for COVID-19 information

Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.

• BC COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

• Vancouver Coastal Health – Information on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

• HealthLink BC – Coronavirus (COVID-19) information page

• BC Center for Disease Control – Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

• Government of Canada – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update

• World Health Organization – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak

–with files from The Canadian Press