B.C.’s infection rate for COVID-19 is moving in the right direction, with 429 new cases Tuesday and fewer than 300 people in hospital with the novel coronavirus, public health officials said.
In the 24 hours up to Feb. 2 there were eight new COVID-19 related deaths, and one new health care facility outbreak at Carelife Fleetwood in Surrey. An outbreak at Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna has been declared over.
With small batches of vaccine arriving this week, B.C. is now up to more than 140,000 people who have received at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
“We’re seeing an encouraging trend in our COVID-19 curve,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement. “The efforts you are making, combined with the immunization of our long-term care residents and workers, are making a difference.”
RELATED: B.C. pubs, restaurants seek clarity on Super Bowl rules
RELATED: B.C. detects more new cases of UK variant of COVID-19
The current public health orders restricting private gatherings and advising against non-essential travel are expiring on Friday, and Henry will be providing an update on orders and the latest analysis from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control of the spread of the original virus and its recently detected variants.
B.C.’s new cases of COVID-19 continued at a steady pace over the weekend, with 408 up to Saturday, 473 up to Sunday and 277 up to Monday, reflecting a lower number of test results completed on Sundays.
Of the latest cases, there were 202 positive tests in the Fraser Health region, where transmission has slowed significantly since late in 2020. There were 112 new cases in Vancouver Coastal, 51 in Interior Health, 35 in Northern Health and 27 on Vancouver Island.
@tomfletcherbctfletcher@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on <a href=
“http://twitter.com/BlackPressMedia” target=”_blank”>Twitter.
