Another 338 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In B.C., Along With One Death

Another 338 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in British Columbia on Tuesday, along with one additional death.

Of the new cases, 160 were in the Fraser Health region, 40 cases were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 39 were in the Interior Health region, 42 were in Island Health, and 57 were in Northern Health.

The case total brings the province’s seven-day rolling average for new cases to 451, down from 498 on Friday.

1:41B.C. prepares to vaccinate children aged 5-11 against COVID-19

B.C. prepares to vaccinate children aged 5-11 against COVID-19 The number of people in hospital with the disease remained unchanged at 376. Of those patients, 107 are in intensive care, a decline of nine from Monday.

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There are 3,568 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, the lowest total since Aug. 10.

A death in the Fraser Health region brings B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,274.

The province said 90.7 per cent of eligible people in B.C. aged 12 and older have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 86.8 per cent have received two doses.

Earlier in the day, B.C.’s top doctor reported the province’s first case of a new strain of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told a news conference that the AY 4.2 strain was first detected in the United Kingdom, but has also been connected to spread in Western Canada.

Based on preliminary evaluation, she said, the vaccine works against the evolution of the Delta variant.

COVID-19 strains evolve over time and full sequencing is still being done for all positive cases in B.C., she added.

“What we are looking at is whether these variants are spreading more quickly or are making people sicker,” Henry said. “Our defence continues to be vaccination.”

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— With files from Richard Zussman