Hospitalizations down in British Columbia, but seven more deaths from COVID-19

VICTORIA – Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 continued to drop in B.C. on Thursday, but seven more people have died of the illness.

The Health Ministry says the death toll stands at 2,960 since the start of the pandemic.

It also says 298 people were in hospital, with 49 of them in intensive care.

The ministry says in a statement that during the first two weeks of the month, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 27.6 per cent of hospitalizations.

It says 240 new cases have been diagnosed, but a lack of testing capacity and the fact that positive results from rapid antigen tests are not always reported suggests the official number of cases is unreliable.

While 91.3 per cent of eligible adults in B.C. have received their second dose of a vaccine, only 58.7 per cent have had a third shot.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2022.