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B.C.’s COVID-19 surge continues with 840 cases Tuesday

320 of the new cases are variants as restrictions take effect
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A community member posts a COVID-19 notice at a checkpoint on the Tsilhqot’in Nation in B.C.’s Interior. Many Indigenous communities have controlled their borders in the pandemic. (Keith Koepke/Tsilhqot’in Nation)

B.C. recorded another 840 cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, with no new deaths but hospitalized patients up to 312 and 78 in intensive care.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the continued high infection rate is the reason for new restrictions imposed as of March 30, suspending indoor dining at restaurants and pubs, further restricting indoor fitness and closing Whistler ski resort.

B.C.’s daily case count hit 936 for Saturday, with 805 more confirmed cases on Sunday and 774 recorded Monday, a day that tends to be lower due to fewer samples being processed on Sundays.

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“Since we last reported, we have had 265 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 421 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 39 in the Island Health region, 67 in the Interior Health region, 46 in the Northern Health region and two new cases of people who reside outside of Canada,” Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement March 30.

“There have been 320 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 2,553 cases. Of the total cases, 313 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 2,134 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 49 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 370 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.”

The province also announced a new vaccination program starting March 31, offering AstraZeneca vaccine to people in the Lower Mainland aged between 55 and 65. Age-based vaccinations continue across the province with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, taking appointments for people aged 73 and up as of Tuesday.


@tomfletcherbc
tfletcher@blackpress.ca

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