As B.C. heads into the weekend, the latest round of COVID numbers continues to climb higher.
The province recorded 820 new cases in the past 24 hours, along with nine new deaths, which is the highest one-day total since early June. The total number of people who have now died from complications of the virus is 1,856.
Of the new cases, 264 were in Fraser Health, 112 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 253 in Interior Health, 101 in Northern Health and 90 cases in Island Health.
Nineteen more people were in hospital, bringing that total to 281. Of those, five more people were in the ICU, bringing that total to 135.
B.C.’s total case count since the start of the pandemic is now 173,158 and there are still 5,850 active cases.
As of Friday, 85.5 per cent (3,962,256) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 78 per cent (3,614,503) received their second dose.
In addition, 86.1 per cent (3,722,969) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 78.9 per cent (3,412,468) received their second dose.
B.C.’s vaccine card goes into effect Monday, and Health Minister Adrian Dix said this week that more than 1.7 million British Columbians have registered online for it so far.
As of Monday, B.C. residents and visitors over the age of 12 will have to show proof of vaccination to access non-essential services such as concerts, restaurants and gyms.
Meanwhile, mental health experts are raising concerns about “moral injury” among health workers suddenly targeted over the vaccine card program.
The military term describes the plight of soldiers experiencing an extreme violation of their moral values, but Elizabeth Peter, a nursing professor at the University of Toronto, said it’s fitting for exhausted health workers who are trying to save lives against the backdrop of protesters opposed to scientifically proven COVID-19 vaccines.
– with files from The Canadian Press