B.C. reports 873 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths

Two more people in B.C. have died from COVID-19, and there have been 873 new cases of the disease, the lowest number of new daily cases in almost two weeks.

Of the new cases reported Tuesday, 218 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 512 were in the Fraser Health region, 43 were in Island Health, 72 were in Interior Health, and 28 were in Northern Health.

A total of 8,361 tests were conducted. The seven-day rolling average of B.C.’s positivity rates is 10.2 per cent.

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The province said a delay in the Public Health Reporting Data Warehouse lab system means the numbers are preliminary and may be adjusted.

The deaths bring B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,515, health officials said in a written statement.

Tuesday’s preliminary numbers marked the second consecutive day the province reported fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the seven-day average for new cases to 1,102.

There were 377 people with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals, an increase of seven. Of those, 116 patients are in intensive care, a decrease of five.

There were 9,756 active COVID-19 cases in the province and 16,290 people are in self-isolation due to possible exposure to the coronavirus.

The province said there are 5,221 confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern. Of the total cases, 258 are active.

On Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry urged people to stay close to home during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“If you live in North Van, you should not be travelling to Langley or to Richmond,” she said.

“If you live in the Lower Mainland, you should not be travelling to the Island. If you live in Penticton, you should not be going to Sun Peaks or Oliver or Kelowna right now. We need to only do those types of travel if it’s essential, and nothing more.”

B.C. Premier John Horgan said Tuesday that travel restrictions will be discussed Wednesday by the provincial cabinet and those talks will also likely examine the status of bookings for hotels, bed and breakfasts and camping sites.

The premier said Henry will provide any update of possible new restrictions Thursday during a briefing where the province’s latest COVID-19 modelling data will be presented.

— With files from The Canadian Press