The number of COVID-19 cases in B.C. fell below 300 for the first time since Jan. 2, British Columbia health officials said Thursday as they reported seven additional deaths.
There were 298 positive cases in the hospital system, an overnight drop of 31, including 49 cases in critical or intensive care.
Officials also confirmed 240 new cases, however daily new case counts no longer reflect the true spread of the virus due to limitations on testing.
Just eight outbreaks remained in health-care facilities — seven in long-term care homes, and one at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
As of Thursday, 87.8 per cent of B.C.’s population (90.8 per cent of those eligible) have had one dose of vaccine, 84.1 per cent of B.C.’s population (86.9 per cent of those eligible) have had two doses, and 49.2 per cent of B.C.’s population (58.7 per cent of those eligible) have had three doses.
People with two or more doses accounted for 83.5 per cent of cases over the past week and 72.4 per cent of hospitalizations over the past two weeks.
Monthly B.C. CDC data continues to show unvaccinated people at a significantly higher risk of severe outcomes.
From Feb. 8 to March 7, per 100,000 population, there were 117.2 unvaccinated cases in hospital, 27.2 unvaccinated cases in ICU and 13.8 deaths among the unvaccinated, compared to 39.7 vaccinated (two-dose) cases in hospital, 9.2 vaccinated cases in ICU and 6.2 deaths among people with two doses.
Earlier Thursday, the federal government announced it was removing the requirement for fully vaccinated people entering Canada to provide a pre-arrival molecular test on April 1.
Vaccinated travellers may still need to undergo random testing upon arrival, but won’t need to quarantine while waiting for results.
Since the start of the pandemic, B.C. has reported 353,379 total cases, while 2,960 people have died.
– with files from Global News’ Rachel Gilmore