B.C. records 624 new cases of COVID-19 and 4 more deaths

British Columbia announced 624 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths on Thursday.

In a written statement, the provincial government said there are currently 5,929 active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.

A total of 373 people are in hospital, with 132 in intensive care.

Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are up by 13.7 per cent from last Thursday, when 328 people were in hospital with the disease and about 46 per cent from a month ago on Sept. 7, when 255 people were in hospital.

The number of patients in intensive care is down by about eight per cent from 145 a week ago and up by four per cent from a month ago when 126 people were in the ICU.

The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is now 1,996 lives lost out of 191,748 confirmed cases to date.

There  are a total of 13 active outbreaks in assisted living and long-term care. Three acute care facilities — Mission Memorial Hospital, the University Hospital of Northern B.C. and Royal Inland Hospital — also have active outbreaks.

The province says the outbreak at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George is now over. In total, 20 residents and three staff members were affected. Another outbreak at the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre has also been declared over.

As of Thursday, 88.5 per cent of those 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 82.1 per cent a second dose.

From Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 70.8 per cent of cases and from Sept. 22, they accounted for 78.3 per cent of hospitalizations, according to the province.

So far, 7.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 3.8 million second doses.

Employee vaccines required

The federal and provincial government, as well as some companies, have already mandated vaccines for their employees.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled Canada's new mandatory vaccine policy on Wednesday. It requires the core public service, air travel and rail employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October.

This week, provincial health officials also announced COVID-19 vaccines will soon be mandatory for thousands of employees in B.C.'s public service and for visitors to many health-care settings, including long-term and assisted care.

Not included in this mandate are school teachers and support staff. According to Stephanie Higginson, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, education employees are hired by individual school districts and it is up to district school boards to determine if staff in their jurisdiction must be immunized.

Private companies, such as LNG Canada, have also developed corporate vaccine mandates, with looming deadlines for staff to be fully vaccinated.

Anyone who is eligible for immunization and has not yet received their first and/or second dose can do so by booking an appointment online, calling 1-833-838-2323, or registering in person at a Service B.C. location.