COVID-19: B.C. reports 667 new cases and 13 deaths, capping deadly week

British Columbia health officials reported 667 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with another 13 deaths.

The update brought B.C.’s seven-day average for new cases to 563, and capped a grim week in which more than 50 British Columbians lost their lives to the disease.

On Thursday, officials confirmed a person in their 20s had died of COVID, while 10 deaths were a part of a “significant” outbreak at the Willingdon Care Centre.

Of the new cases, 246 were in the Fraser Health region, 75 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 101 were in the Interior Health region, 184 were in the Northern Health Region and 59 were in the Island Health region.

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Active cases in B.C. continued their week-long see-saw, falling to 5,128.

The number of active COVID cases in hospital also dropped nine to 367, with 152 in critical or intensive care.

3:55 COVID-19: B.C. reports 667 new cases, 12 related deaths

The hospitalization numbers do not include patients who were no longer infectious but remained in hospital for other treatment — a figure officials have not provided since Sept. 21.

More than 4.12 million British Columbians, representing 89 per cent of those eligible and 80.1 per cent of B.C.’s entire population, have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Of them, 3.84 million people, representing 83 per cent of those eligible and 74.7 per cent of B.C.’s entire population, have had two doses.

Over the past week, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 68.3 per cent of new cases, while over the past two weeks they represented 76.3 per cent of hospitalizations.

Nine out of 10 cases in B.C. ICUs on Friday were people who weren’t fully vaccinated.

Since the start of the pandemic, B.C. has reported 196,433 total cases, while 2,055 people have died.

On Thursday, B.C. tightened restrictions in the Northern Health region, where COVID-19 cases continue to surge.

Over the last week, the north saw 12 deaths and 69 hospitalizations with COVID — each representing about a quarter of the province’s totals in a health region with about just six per cent of B.C.’s population.

The province has also airlifted 58 people out of northern ICUs to other health regions.

2:18 The numbers behind Dr. Bonnie Henry imposing a COVID-19 circuit breaker in B.C.’s north