B.C. public health teams reported 3,798 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, continuing a week of high infection rate and maximum testing results that has pushed the number of official active cases in the province to nearly 30,000.
There are 317 people in B.C. hospitals with active COVID-19 infections as of Jan. 5, up by 19 in the past 24 hours, with 83 patients in intensive care, down by three. There have been no deaths or new infection outbreaks in the health care system in the past day.
From Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 16.2 per cent of new of cases, and from Dec. 21 to Jan. 3, they accounted for 51.4 per cent of hospitalizations.
Molecular testing to confirm COVID-19 infection has reached maximum capacity in B.C. testing centres and labs, with Tuesday’s 2,542 positive tests coming from nearly 13,000 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the test positivity rate for all areas of B.C. had risen to nearly 15 per cent by Dec. 29, the latest indication that there are many more infected people than are being confirmed by testing.
B.C.’s COVID-19 test results continue to show low risk of infection leading to severe illness in young people, as the fast-spreading Omicron variant is now at least 80 per cent of new cases in B.C. A return to school starting Monday, Jan. 10 is vital for children’s development, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday.
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 health region for Jan. 5:
• 1,739 new cases in Fraser Health, 13,920 active
• 840 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 9,100 active
• 473 new cases in Interior Health, 2,563 active
• 179 new cases in Northern Health, 750 active
• 566 new cases in Island Health, 3,631 active
• one new case of a person who resides outside of Canada, 3 active
@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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