Active COVID-19 cases on the rise in the Interior

Interior Health’s active case numbers are trending upwards once again.

The active case count rose to 795, up 78 from the day before, as 118 new cases were recorded in the region Wednesday.

The new cases were part of 696 identified across B.C., and the provincial active case count was 4,888 as of Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health notes that data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) shows that in the past week, the unvaccinated accounted for 60 per cent of new cases, and the fully vaccinated made up 32.8 per cent.

The province states that, as of Wednesday, there were 370 British Columbians in hospital due to complications from COVID-19, 139 of whom were in intensive care.

BCCDC data shows the unvaccinated accounted for 68.8 per cent of COVID hospitalizations over the past two weeks, while 25.1 per cent of patients had received two doses of a vaccine.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 20, 89.3 per cent of British Columbians age 12 and over had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 83.6 per cent of eligible recipients had received both jabs.

Another six deaths linked to COVID-19 were recorded in B.C. Wednesday, bringing the provincial death-toll up to 2,092.

The province notes that a new health-care facility outbreak has been recorded in the Fraser Health region, bringing the total active outbreak sites in B.C. up to 24, with four located in the Interior.

• Cottonwoods Care Centre long-term care in Kelowna: 52 resident and 15 staff cases, 13 deaths
• Overlander Long-Term Care in Kamloops: 21 resident and seven staff cases, five deaths
• Village by the Station long-term care in Penticton: 23 resident and 14 staff cases, three deaths
• Haven Hill Care Centre long-term care in Penticton: 10 resident and two staff cases, one death