B.C. reports 853 new COVID-19 cases, as hospitalizations drop from record high

B.C. health officials reported 853 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, along with one death.

Of the new cases, 187 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 574 were in the Fraser Health region, 29 were in Island Health, 60 were in Interior Health, and 24 were in Northern Health.

The number of people in hospital with the disease dropped to 503, down from a record-high of 515 reported Wednesday. Of those patients, 178 were in intensive care, a new record.

6:02 B.C. reports 874 new COVID-19 cases, one additional death

A total of 128,772 COVID-19 cases have been reported in B.C. since the start of the pandemic, while 1,577 people have died.

There were 7,996 active cases — the first time that figure has fallen below 8,000 since April 1. Another 11,628 people were isolating due to possible exposure.

Nearly 1.75 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province, of which more than 90,000 were second doses.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Thursday that the province is expecting the supply of Pfizer vaccine to double starting next week and remain at record levels through the month of May.

4:22 The push for paid sick leave in B.C.

The province received 138,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.

BC Hydro on Thursday reported that officials in the Northern Health region declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Site C dam project.

There are currently 13 active cases of the disease associated with Site C and 100 workers isolating at home or on site, BC Hydro said in a statement issued Thursday.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a corrected figure for the number of new cases on Thursday issued by the Ministry of Health.