COVID case numbers trending in the right direction in B.C.

The slow but steady decline in COVID cases, hospitalizations and intensive care patients continues in B.C.

The number of people in B.C. hospitals with a COVID diagnosis dropped slightly again today, Feb. 25, to 612 from 699 yesterday. The number in intensive care dropped to 96 from 102 yesterday.

This is part of an ongoing slow decline in hospitalizations due to COVID.

But the number of deaths climbed from nine yesterday to 12 today. There were no deaths in the Interior Health region with 10 of the 12 being in Fraser Health. That brings the pandemic death toll to 2,851.

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.

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There were 583 new cases reported in B.C. over the past 24 hours down from 597 yesterday. That includes 183 in Interior Health, according to a Province of B.C. news release issued today.

There were 138 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 91 in Vancouver Coastal, 96 on Vancouver Island and 75 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.

The vaccination rate for people over the age of 12 was unchanged at 93.2% with at least one dose. It was also unchanged at 90.7% for those with at least two doses. The number of people with three doses increased slightly to 55.3%

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