Hospitalizations rising as B.C. records 525 new cases of COVID-19 and 1 more death

B.C. health officials announced 525 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death on Tuesday.

In a written statement, the province said there are currently 5,282active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.

A total of 332 people are in hospital, with155in intensive care.

Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, areup by 15 per cent from last Tuesday, when 288people were in hospital with the disease and about 157 per cent from a month ago when 129 people were in hospital.

The number of patients in intensive care isupby about 11per cent from 140 a week ago and by 163 per cent from a month ago when 59people were in the ICU.

The provincialdeath toll from the disease is now 1,900 lives lost out of 180,178 confirmed cases to date.

The regional breakdown of new cases is as follows:

• 187 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 1,711total active cases.
• 147 new cases in Interior Health, which has 1,167total active cases.
• 79 new cases in Northern Health, which has 921total active cases.
• 61 new cases in Island Health, which has 619total active cases.
• 51 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 822total active cases.

There are a total of 22active outbreaks in assisted living and long-term care, including one new outbreak atVictoria Chinatown Care Centre.

As of Tuesday, 87 per cent of those 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of aCOVID-19 vaccineand 79.5 per cent asecond dose.

From Sept. 13 to19, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 76.1 per cent of cases and from Sept. 6-19,they accounted for 84.7 per cent of hospitalizations, according to the province. After factoring for age, people not vaccinated are 33.1times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated, it said.

So far, 7.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

Vaccinations and vaccine cards

Some severelyimmunocompromised people in B.C. have also already received athird dose of the vaccine after the province announced earlier this month that 15,000 clinically extremely vulnerable people wouldbe invited for a third jab.

Anyone who is eligible forimmunization and has not yet received a shotis encouraged by health officials to do so immediately. This can be done by booking an appointment online, calling1-833-838-2323, or registering in person at a Service B.C. location.

British Columbians are now required to show a vaccine card proving they have been immunized to access many activities and services.Adults aged 19 and over willalso need to show a government-issued piece of photo ID.

The vaccine cardis a one-page file with your name, confirmed vaccination status and a QR code. You can download it as an image fileto your device, take ascreenshotof the card on your phoneor print a paper copy.

Cards areavailablethrough the provincialHealth Gateway website.