What you need to know about COVID-19 in B.C. for Jan. 19

THE LATEST:

• As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 465 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 moredeaths.
• There are currently 4,331 active cases of the coronavirusin B.C.
• 329 people are in hospital, with 70in the ICU.
• 92,369 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C.
• There are no new health-care facility outbreaks.

B.C.health officials confirmed 465 newcases of COVID-19 Tuesday and said 12more people haddied of the disease.

In a written statement,Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix put the number of hospitalized patients at 329 people, 70 of whom are in intensive care.

A total of 1,090 people in B.C. have lost their lives due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

B.C. recorded no new outbreaks in health-care facilities.The outbreak at The Emerald at Elim Village, a long-term care facility in Surrey,has been declaredover.

For the first time since a second round of restrictions was implemented in November, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry offered a glimmer of hope that B.C.'s COVID-19 case countcould be tipping in the right direction.

Henry said in a Monday afternoon news conference thatoutbreaks are slowingin B.C. andthe province isat a "tipping point"she feels positive about.

"Clearly the things we are doing in our community are working," Henry said Monday, while acknowledging that outbreaks continue in essential workplaces andlong-term care homes.

She said that if B.C.'s case count continues to trend downwards, there is a possibilitysome restrictions could be liftedby the Family Day weekend in mid-February.

B.C.'s current health restrictions are in effect until at least Feb. 5 at midnight. The current orders includea ban on gatherings with people outside of one's immediate household.

But Henry said that while B.C.'s numbers continue to decrease, the risk of transmission remains high in all areas of the province, and that outbreaks in Interior Health and Northern Health are of concern.

B.C. 'prepared' forvaccine delays

Henry said the province will soon finish vaccinating all residents of long-term care homes in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions, and is on track to complete vaccinations inall long-term care homes by end of next week depending on when doses arrive.

She said visits to long-term care homes could possibly resume by late March, or once two incubation periods have passed since a long-term care home outbreak has ended.

The federal government on Friday announced Pfizer is temporarily reducing shipments of its vaccine in order to expand manufacturing capacity at a facility in Belgium. The move means there will be fewer shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech coming to Canada until at least March.

Henry said on Monday that the delay is a "setback" and willtemporarily slow the province'sdelivery of the vaccine to at-risk people. But she said the province is working to ensure the highest number of people are immunized.

Henry added that the province will be providingmore first doses of the vaccine in March than originally planned, with second doses being pushed to later in March when supply increases.

READ MORE:

• A Kelowna, B.C., church has beenfined a second time forholding in-person services in violation of public health orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
• Rudolf Neufeld died from COVID-19. This is why his family wants you to know his story.
• The mayor of Dawson Creek, B.C., says he plans to speak to a newly elected councillor whotravelled abroad despite public health recommendations not to.
• At a time whenVancouver venues are struggling, thehistoric Hollywood Theatre inKitsilanois banking on more than just movies to survive.
• As calls mount for the B.C. government to impose an inter-provincial travel ban, one lawyer says the courts must weigh whether such a restriction is "reasonable and justified."

What's happening elsewhere in Canada

As of 9p.m. PT on Monday, Canada had reported 712,816 cases of COVID-19, and 18,120 total deaths.

A total of 73,919 cases are considered active.

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