B.C. public health teams reported 3,795 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday, down from more than 4,000 on Thursday as testing centres and laboratories run at maximum capacity to measure the spread of the Omicron variant.
There are 220 people in B.C. hospitals with active coronavirus infections, nine more than Thursday, with 73 patients admitted to intensive care, up by seven in the past 24 hours. There have been three additional deaths, for a total of 2,423 since the pandemic began in early 2020.
The rapid surge in positive tests has seen the total active cases rise to more than 20,000 province-wide, but even as daily cases have quadrupled since just before Christmas, hospitalization rates have stayed steady.
There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at Kopernik Lodge in Vancouver and Amica Douglas House in Victoria, for a total of 15 facilities with ongoing outbreaks. Most have been recorded since the steep rise of infections that began before Christmas, prompting a return of essential visitors only to senior care homes until at least Jan. 18.
B.C. health authorities continue to operate scheduled appointment COVID-19 vaccination clinics around the province for residents age five and older. Registration and booking appointments in B.C. can be done online here, or by calling 1-833-838-2323 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., seven days a week.
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New and active cases by region for Dec. 31:
• 1,944 new cases in Fraser Health, 9,050 active
• 965 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 7,135 active
• 320 new cases in Interior Health, 1,792 active
• 129 new cases in Northern Health, 494 active
• 434 new cases in Island Health, 2,336 active
• 3 new cases of people who reside outside of Canada, 4 active
@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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