B.C. reports 3,289 new COVID-19 cases over three days, as total deaths top 1,500

B.C. recorded 3,289 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days, along with 18 deaths.

There were 1,283 cases from Friday to Saturday while 1,036 cases were reported from Saturday to Sunday, and 970 from Sunday to Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported during a live press briefing Monday.

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Of the new cases, 740 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,957 were in the Fraser Health region, 167 were in Island Health, 299 were in Interior Health, and 125 were in Northern Health.

About half of COVID-19 cases in B.C. are variants of concern, Henry said.

The seven-day rolling average of B.C.’s positivity rates is 10.2 per cent.

The number of people in hospital with the disease rose by 36 to 368. Of those, 121 are in intensive care, an increase of 19.

There are 9,937 active COVID-19 cases in the province while nearly 16,000 people are self-isolating due to possible exposure to the virus.

The 18 deaths over three days bring the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,513.

“This is, I don’t need to say, our third wave,” Henry said.

The province has administered more than 1.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, Henry said.

Over the weekend, Vancouver Coastal Health announced plans for mass vaccinations in Whistler.

Meanwhile, first responders in Surrey and White Rock will start receiving the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday.

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According to an internal memo shared with Global News, all Surrey and White Rock RCMP members, Surrey Fire and Rescue Services staff and White Rock Fire Rescue staff are now eligible for the vaccine.

The news comes after concerns were raised last week by Surrey’s fire chief that public safety could be in jeopardy if COVID-19 cases continue to rise among his members.

Monday’s press briefing took place after the B.C. government’s throne speech, which outlined the province’s next steps in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 while managing the economy.

— With files from Richard Zussman, Amy Judd, Simon Little and The Canadian Press