B.C. public health teams reported 519 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with an increase in people in hospital with severe coronavirus illness.
There are 191 people in B.C. hospitals with active COVID-19 infections as of Dec. 14, up from 185 in the past 24 hours, and 81 of them in intensive care, up from 72 on Monday. No new deaths or outbreaks in the health care system were reported in the 24 hours up to Dec. 14.
One year to the day since B.C.’s vaccination program began, the province has administered its nine millionth dose of vaccine. With children aged five to 11 being immunized, booster third doses are now being offered to people aged 60 and older, with pharmacies administering many of the booster shots.
Up to Dec. 12, 44 cases of the Omicron variant have been identified in B.C. using whole genome sequencing, which is now being applied to almost all positive test results in the province. Of those cases, 24 have been detected in the Fraser Health region, 11 in Vancouver Coastal, five on Vancouver Island, three in Interior Health and one in Northern Health. Of the 44 cases, 20 people have recent travel histories to Africa, Iran, Mexico, Germany, Portugal and the U.S.
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. 14:
• 110 new cases in Fraser Health, 872 active
• 106 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 669 active
• 145 new cases in Interior Health, 612 active
• 34 new cases in Northern Health, 213 active
• 123 new cases in Island Health, 804 active
@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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