COVID-19: B.C. records slight rise in hospitalizations as daily reports get set to end

In one of the last few daily COVID-19 reports of the pandemic, B.C. is recording a slight rise in hospitalizations.

There have been 13 more cases recorded in hospital, bringing that number back up to 334.

However, there is one less case in intensive care so the total stands at 35 as of Tuesday afternoon.

On Thursday, B.C. will move to weekly COVID-19 reporting, rather than providing daily case numbers.

“What that means is that we will be able to automatically link data and have more in-depth and detailed, accurate reporting of numbers of the previous week to get people a better sense of what we expect to see and what the risk profile is,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday.

Henry added British Columbians need to think of their personal risk in terms of weeks, not days.

“What’s my risk this week?” she said. “What are the things that I feel comfortable doing, you know, next week? Well, shall I go out to a restaurant with friends this coming weekend? Here’s how I’m feeling. Here’s what I know about my friends and whether they’ve been exposed to anybody with COVID.”

Henry also announced Tuesday that the B.C. vaccine card will no longer be required by law to eat in a restaurant or go to a movie but some businesses may still require it from patrons.

In addition, B.C. recorded 258 cases of the virus in the past 24 hours. However, due to testing limitations, case numbers are no longer considered an accurate representation of the virus spread in the province.

There have been 357,758 cases recorded in B.C. since the start of the pandemic.

An update on the number of deaths related to COVID-19 will be provided on Thursday, the province states.

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As of Tuesday, 90.9 per cent (4,529,972) of eligible people five and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 87.4 per cent (4,358,529) have received their second dose.

In addition, 93.5 per cent (4,333,166) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 91.1 per cent (4,222,894) received their second dose and 57.8 per cent (2,677,473) have received a third dose.

Also, 93.8 per cent (4,058,015) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose, 91.5 per cent (3,957,889) received their second dose and 59.5 per cent (2,573,327) have received a third dose.