997 cases of COVID-19 in B.C.; 91 in Interior Health

B.C. health officials announced 997 new cases of COVID-19, 91 of which were in Interior Health, raising the total number of cases to 106,985 since the start of the pandemic.

There are 8,728 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 330 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with 105 in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. There have also been two new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,491 since the start of the pandemic.

There are also currently 3,766 confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province. Additional whole genome sequencing has not been completed since the last report. Of the total cases, 266 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 2,837 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 51 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 878 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be ever-changing, and we are also continuing to evolve and adapt our pandemic response. As part of this, we are actively monitoring and screening for all of the virus strains to understand how they may impact us and what additional action may be required to keep our communities safe," provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement today, April 7.

"We know that no matter what mutation may be prevalent, following all of the public health orders and using all of our layers of protection – without exception – is the best thing we can do to keep ourselves and each other safe. We all have a choice – to bend the rules, or do our part to flatten our curve. No matter how tired of this pandemic we may be, let’s make the right choice today.”

In addition to staying clear of people who aren't in our bubbles, the vaccine effort is ongoing. To date, 946,096 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,504 of which are second doses. This is almost 20% of those who are eligible for a vaccine in B.C.

The Get Vaccinated online vaccine registration and booking system for B.C.’s age-based immunization program is open for everyone to register and then later book their vaccine appointment when eligible. More than 305,000 people have registered so far.

People 70 and older, Indigenous peoples 18 and over, and individuals who have received their ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ letter may book appointments.

The parallel, worker-focused program remains a priority, and scheduling of vaccines will resume as more vaccine becomes available.

Today, the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations provided clear advice on vaccine doses, confirming that up to 16 weeks between doses provides for the greatest level of community-wide protection and is therefore optimal for everyone, irrespective of any underlying health condition.

For COVID-19 vaccination information in the Interior Health region go here.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.