B.C. Covid update Monday: 49 new deaths, 2,146 new cases

The COVID-19 death toll added another 49 names over the weekend in British Columbia.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made that announcement on Monday while also reporting 2,146 new COVID cases around the province.

The total includes 698 cases from Friday to Saturday, 689 from Saturday to Sunday and 759 from Sunday to Monday for a grand total of 42,943.

Interior Health has 250 new cases, with 300 in Vancouver Coastal, 1,474 in Fraser Health, 29 in Island Health, 91 in Northern Health and two cases to people who live outside Canada.

Of the 49 deaths, 28 were in the Fraser region, 18 in Vancouver Coastal and three in Northern Health, raising the overall total to 647.

There are 10,039 active cases in B.C., with 359 people in hospital and 87 in intensive or critical care.

Currently 11,177 people are actively being monitored for COVID-19, and 31,207 have recovered from the virus.

On a positive note, Dr. Henry said the first doses of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine arrived in B.C. Sunday and the immunizations will start on Tuesday (Dec. 13).

“What this means is we now have a safe and effective vaccine that has been approved for use in Canada and is available in British Columbia. This is momentous news, and the first step in our path to protecting people most at risk in our communities and taking the pressure off our health care system,” Henry said.

The first vaccines will be administered to frontline health care workers and to staff at long-term care facilities at sites in the Vancouver and Fraser regions.

Henry said, by next week, the shots will be available in every health authority in B.C.

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Interior Health update for Monday:

IH is reporting 250 new cases since Friday, for a total of 2,851

837 cases are active and on isolation

Twenty-eight people are in hospital; six of them in ICU.

Total number of deaths in IH remains at six.

 

Update on McKinney long-term care home:

Today Interior Health can confirm 38 residents and 15 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at McKinney long-term care in Oliver for a total of 53 cases associated with this outbreak.

 

Update on outbreaks:

Village by the Station Long-term Care Home has four cases.

Mountain View Village Long-term Care Home remains at seven cases.

 

Statement on COVID-19 cases and testing at Big White Ski Resort:

As we know COVID-19 is circulating throughout Interior Health, the province, and beyond.

Like many communities, we have detected cases of COVID-19 related to transmission caused by social activity in homes and accommodations.

This includes the resort municipality of Big White where Interior Health is investigating community cases of COVID-19 and performing contact tracing.

Given the remote circumstances of people who reside at Big White, we have deployed a testing team to expedite some testing.

No outbreak has been declared.

Given the shared nature of some accommodations in the community, some asymptomatic testing is occurring as an attempt to identify possible cases early.

Activities at big White are safe for those who are visiting and following COVID-19 public health guidance.

We would like to thank Big White’s community leaders for their ongoing support as public health works to ensure any cases of COVID-19 are detected and supported as part of our ongoing efforts against COVID-19.