Upward trend continues as B.C. records 185 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 more deaths

The B.C. government announced 185 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths on Wednesday, the highest number of new daily cases since June 5.

In a written statement, the province said there are currently 909 active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C., the most active cases since June 28.

The regional breakdown is as follows:

• 35 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 208 active cases.
• 26 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 136 active cases.
• 113 new cases in Interior Health, which has 503 active cases.
• Two new cases in Northern Health, which has 16 active cases.
• Eight new cases in Island Health, which has 41 active cases. 
• One new case of a person who typically resides outside of Canada; a group that has five active cases.

A total of 47 people are in hospital, with 20 in intensive care, up from 16 last Wednesday.

Overall hospitalizations are about the same as a week ago.

The provincial death toll from the disease is now 1,771 lives lost. There have been 149,444 confirmed cases to date.

As of Wednesday, 80.9 per cent (3,747,391) of eligible residents 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 63.2 per cent (2,931,128) have received a second dose.

Cases on the rise

The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in British Columbia has tripled during the past three weeks, at the same time as the delta variant has grown to become the most dominant strain in the province. 

The majority of new cases are concentrated in the Interior, which has more than half the daily cases and active cases, despite accounting for 15 per cent of all residents. 

On Wednesday, the province declared a COVID-19 outbreak in the Central Okanagan after a rapid rise in cases in the region. It is reimposing a local mask mandate and reducing the interval between first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 28 days.

Dr. Silvina Mema, the medical health officer for Interior Health, says more than 90 per cent of those cases are among people who are not fully vaccinated.

She says that is why the health authority is trying to make getting the vaccine as easy as possible with mobile and pop-up clinics. 

B.C. health officials announced this week that a vaccination blitz called "Walk-In Wednesday" will take place on Aug. 4. The province said 20,000 doses will be available at clinics, with no appointment necessary.