The number of British Columbians in hospital with COVID-19 hit a new high Wednesday, as the province reported another 1,168 new cases and six additional deaths.
There were 397 people in hospital, up 20 from Tuesday and well over the previous record of 381 set in early January.
Among those in hospital, 120 patients were in intensive care, just one shy of the record 121 reported Monday.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said hospitalizations were a lagging indicator, reflecting where the province was last week.
“Test positivity over the last few days (is) coming down, which is a good sign, but we’re still way above where we need to be,” he said.
He added that no formal decision had been made on extending restrictions on indoor dining and group physical fitness activities. B.C.’s food and beverage industry said Tuesday it had met with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, who indicated they could be extended well into May.
“The situation remains very serious, we’ve seen some effect from it but we need to keep doubling down on ensuring physical distancing, because this is a virus that transmits through social interaction,” Dix said.
Of the new cases, 341 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 632 were in the Fraser Health region, 64 were in the Island Health region, 105 were in the Interior Health region and 26 were in the Northern Health region.
The number of active cases ticked upwards again to 9,821, while more than 16,000 people were isolating due to possible exposure.
More than 1.1 million British Columbians — about 21 per cent of the population — has now had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Of them, 87,820 people have also had a second dose.
The province has administered a total of 1,190,832 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, of which 87,820 were second doses.
B.C. has recorded a total of 114,870 coronavirus cases, while 1,521 people have died.
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