British Columbia reported 120 new cases of COVID-19 and one death on Thursday.
It was the third consecutive day that case number have crept upward, but still saw the seven-day average for new cases tick downward to 114.
At their first in-person briefing since March, 2020, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said the number of active cases in B.C. had held virtually flat overnight at 1,451.
Of the new cases, 13 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 53 were in the Fraser Health region, five were in the Vancouver Island Health region, 43 were in the Interior Health region and five were in the Northern Health region.
There were 131 people in hospital, 44 of whom were in critical or intensive care.
More than 3.46 million British Columbians, accounting for 67.2 per cent of B.C.’s population has had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
More than 768,000 people, just under 15 per cent of B.C.’s population, has had two doses.
Henry said B.C. was expecting “challenges” with the delivery of Pfizer vaccine in the first two weeks of July, but that the province was working to ensure there was enough vaccine for everyone.
The province is expecting increased supply of the Moderna vaccine, which federal guidance has said can be used interchangeably with Pfizer, in the near term. Pfizer shipments in late July are also anticipated to offset the shortage in the first half of the month.
B.C. has reported a total of 146,794 cases since the start of the pandemic, while 1,451 people have died.
READ MORE: COVID-19: B.C. reports four new deaths, 113 new cases amid Step 2 reopening
Earlier Thursday, Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the province was planning for a “near-normal” return to school for elementary and secondary students in September.
Under that plan, B.C. schools would drop the “learning cohort” model and resume many extracurricular activities that were cancelled in 2020-21.
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