COVID hospitalizations in B.C. climb to 942 with 130 in ICU

The number of people in hospital with a COVID diagnosis hit a new high today at 924, up from yesterday’s record of 895.

The number of people in intensive care has climbed as well, to 130 today, Jan. 21, from 119 yesterday. That’s still below the peak of 178 last spring.

These numbers include everyone with a positive COVID test. It’s estimated that 45% of them have mild or no symptoms.

There were 2,364 B.C. residents who tested positive to PCR COVID tests in the last 24 hours, 655 of whom live in the Interior Health region, according to a Ministry of Health news release.

The B.C. numbers are down from a peak of 4,383 on Dec. 30, but the Interior Health numbers are a record high, up from yesterday’s previous record of 563.

This comes on a day when provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said most people who are sick don’t need a COVID test, only those over the age of 70 or those with underlying health conditions.

READ MORE: B.C.'s top doctor says it's time to get used to living with COVID-19

Health officials estimate the actual number of new cases each day is three to four times the numbers in their daily reports.

There are 686 new cases recorded in the Fraser Health region, 499 in Vancouver Coastal, 334 on Vancouver Island and 190 in Northern Health.

There have been nine new deaths in the last 24 hours, but none in the Interior Health region. This brings the provincial total since the start of the pandemic to 2,529.

READ MORE: COVID-19: A timeline of the pandemic and how it changed our lives over the past two years

There are 33,997 active cases in B.C., a drop from the peak of 37,167 on Tuesday.

The vaccination rate for people over the age of 12 is unchanged at 92.5% with at least one dose and 89.8% with at least two doses. Those with three doses increased to 37.8%.

Today's data comes on the second anniversary of the first joint news conference on COVID-19 held by Dr. Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.

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