Interior closes out week with 93 new COVID-19 cases

Dec 10, 2021 | 4:50 PM Pete McIntyre

Interior Health was home to 575 active COVID-19 cases Friday after recording 93 new cases in the region.

Those cases were part of 437 recorded across B.C. The provincial active case count as of Friday was 2,994.

There were three deaths linked to the virus across the province. To date 2,381 British Columbians have died due to the virus.

B.C.’s COVID hospitalizations fell to 211 Friday, with 72 of those patients in intensive care.

The provincial vaccination rate for eligible people aged 5 and over rose to 86 per cent for first doses and 82.2 per cent for second jabs.

The vaccination rates for British Columbians aged 12 and over rose to 91.4 per cent for first doses, 88.4 per cent for second jabs, and 12 per cent for third shots.

There have now been 10 cases of the Omicron variant confirmed in B.C. Those cases have been found in the Vancouver Coastal, Fraser and Island Health regions.

A health-care facility outbreak in the Vancouver Coastal Health area was declared over. As of Friday there were four facilities classified as active outbreaks in B.C., including the Ponderosa Lodge in the Interior.