COVID numbers jump again as B.C. records 150 new cases but no additional deaths

The B.C. government announced 150 new cases of COVID-19 but no additional deaths on Tuesday.

In a written statement, the province said there are currently 783active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C..

Ninety-fourof these cases are in the interior Health region for a total of 412 activecases, double the number of active cases in Fraser Health,the region with the second highest number of active cases.

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

"There is a large number of people that perhapshaven't gotten to the vaccine yet because it hasn't been a priority for them to do it. But they would do it. If theyhad the opportunity," said Mema.

She says that is why Interior Health is trying to make getting the vaccine as easy as possible with mobile and pop-up clinics. The province also announced Tuesdaythat first and second doses will be available at walk-in clinics on Wednesday.

She says service jobsare where most of these cases are occurring. According to Mema, some restaurants, barsand fitness studios among others are closing voluntarily due to staff contracting COVID-19. On Monday, Sparkling Hill Resort and Spa in Vernon closed after two staff members tested positive.

The other new cases, broken down by region, are as follows:

• 32 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 196 active cases in total.
• 17 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 122 active cases in total.
• Three new cases in Northern Health, which has 14 active cases in total.
• Three new cases in Island Health, which has 35 active cases in total.
• No new cases of people who normally reside outside of Canada, of which there are four active cases.

A total of 44people are in hospital, with 22in intensive care, an 83per cent increase from 12a week ago.

Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are down by 12per cent from last Tuesday, when 50 people were in hospital with the disease.

The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is now 1,768 lives lost out of 149,259 confirmed cases to date.

So far, 6,629,811doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 2,887,730second doses.

Unvaccinated at risk

Cases of COVID-19 have shown an uptick in B.C.,with the seven-day rolling averageincreasing by more than150per cent in the last three weeks.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Friday that 78 per cent of new cases recorded between June 15 and July 15were among unvaccinated people.

For months, health officials and modelling expertshave stressed the importance of immunization to reduce community outbreaks.

Among the biggest unknowns for the future of the pandemic remains thehighly transmissible delta variantnow circulating in Canada though arecent study has shown that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca-Oxford's COVID-19 vaccines are nearly as effective against delta as they are against the previously dominant alpha variant.

British Columbians aged 12 and over who have not yet been immunized can register in three ways:

• Online through theGet Vaccinated portal.
• By calling 1-833-838-2323. Translators are available in 140 languages.
• In person at anyService B.C. location.