New Covid-19 cases in B.C. did not slow down over the weekend.
The province reported 1,785 new cases on Monday, or an average of 595 per day.
Eighty-four (84) of the cases were in Interior Health, and there were 16 more deaths provincially (1,437 total). One of the new deaths was in the Interior.
Interior Health is also reporting ten new variant cases, for a total of 30.
A total of 166 new variant cases came in over the weekend, upping the overall number to 1,366, with 237 active cases.
B117 (UK) is the most predominant with 1,240 cases, mostly in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions.
Forty-one (41) are the South African variant (no new cases) and there were another 20 cases of the Brazil variant.
Workplaces, and in homes, are the two most common ways the virus is being spread, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer.
“That close contact when we’re inside and let our guard down, those are the times when this virus can spread even more quickly,” said Henry.
Henry said anyone thinking of spring weddings or birthday parties, need to push those plans to the summer.
“This is a time where we need to take those little sacrifices, all of us,” Henry said.
Henry said cases are rising among people between the ages of 20 and 39, and up to age 59, sometimes due to crowded housing and transmission in workplaces. She added some of the younger patients are dying from the virus.
Henry said with three types of Covid vaccines available in B.C., they will be able to move up their aged-based vaccination schedule again this week.
A total of 539,408 doses of the three Covid vaccines have been administered in B.C.
New cases included 556 on Saturday, 598 on Sunday and 631 today, raising the overall total to 92,571.
Of the new cases since Friday, 469 were in Vancouver Coastal Health, 1,010 in Fraser Health, 89 in Island Health, 84 in Interior health and 133 in Northern Health.
There are 5,290 active cases, with 303 people in hospital with Covid-19, 80 in critical or intensive care.
There are no new heath care outbreaks.