One week before B.C. is poised to move to Step 2 of its COVID restart plan, the province is reporting 165 new cases.
There were 42 new cases in Interior Health, with 78 in Fraser Health, 30 in Vancouver Coastal Health, ten on Vancouver Island, and five in Northern Health.
Active cases provincewide are at 2,051 (down 51 from yesterday) with 203 people in hospital (up by four). There are 57 people in intensive care, down from 63 yesterday.
There were no COVID deaths reported today, the death toll remains at 1,722 people.
On the vaccine front, there have been 3,685,340 doses administered in B.C., 345,508 of which are second doses. That is an increase of 49,545 doses since yesterday, 31,262 of which were second doses. There are now 74.2 per cent of all adults and 71.9 per cent of people 12 and older who have gotten their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“It is very encouraging to see a steady increase in the number of people in our province who are protected with a COVID-19 vaccine. And now, more and more people are fully vaccinated with both of their doses,” a statement from Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
“For those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for your first dose, you have a choice. There is no wrong choice to make. Whether you choose a second AstraZeneca vaccine or have an mRNA vaccine instead, all of our vaccines are safe and highly effective.”
People can expect to get their appointments for a second dose of the COVID vaccine about eight weeks after their first.
“There is so much to gain from the progress we are making, so let’s keep pushing to get as many people as possible fully vaccinated as soon as we can,” the statement added.
There are now 141,879 people who are considered to have recovered from COVID-19, about 97 per cent of the 145,695 total cases in British Columbia.
State of Emergency Extended
While the province is poised to move to Step 2 of its Restart Plan next Tuesday, June 15, the COVID-19 state of emergency has been extended another two weeks to the end of June 22.
“A more normal summer is within reach, but we still need to be careful,” said Premier John Horgan, in a statement. “We have seen how quickly case counts can rise if we let our guards down, so I urge everyone to keep following the public health guidance to keep each other safe. The sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can advance to the next step of BC’s Restart and safely get back to all the things we enjoy.”
B.C. has been under a COVID-19 state of emergency since March 18, 2020.
Several fines have been issued between Aug 21, 2020 and June 4, 2021.
- 419 $2,300 tickets to owners or organizers contravening the provincial health officer’s (PHO) order on gatherings and events;
- 41 $2,300 violation tickets for contravention of the PHO Food and Liquor Serving Premises Order;
- 1,649 $230 tickets to individuals who refused to comply with EPA orders;
- 82 $575 tickets to individuals using the increased violation fines who promoted or attended a non-compliant event;
- two $575 tickets to an individual for failing to comply with the travel restrictions; and
- one $230 ticket for failing to stop at a road check.
Additionally, police have issued 191 violation tickets to people who were in contravention of the Federal Quarantine Act, totalling $404,829.
