COVID case counts continue to drop in B.C.

The number of people in hospital with a positive COVID test dropped to 787 today from 803 on Friday. The number who are sick enough to require intensive care climbed slightly to 124 from 119.

About half the of people in hospital with a COVID diagnosis were not in there because of COVID but were tested after going to hospital for things like surgery, delivering a baby or being admitted to a mental health unit.

READ MORE: Indoor dancing and socializing set to return in B.C. as COVID restrictions eased: health officials

The number of new cases reported in the past 24 hours dropped to 519 from 667 yesterday, according to a Ministry of Health news release issued today, Feb. 15.

Of the new cases, 287 were in the Interior Health region, none in Fraser Health or Vancouver Coastal, 78 on Vancouver Island and 146 in the Northern Health region.

The real number of cases is estimated to be three to four times higher because many people infected with COVID are not getting tested or take rapid tests that are not recorded in these figures.

There were two more deaths, both in Northern Health, bringing the pandemic total to 2,766.

The vaccination rate for people over the age of 12 stayed at 93.1% with at least one dose as did the 90.5% with at least two doses. It climbed to 53% for those with three doses.

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