Daily new COVID-19 cases remain high in B.C. heading into this year’s Thanksgiving long weekend.

Health officials reported 743 new cases today, with 143 of those cases in Interior Health. There were also five deaths from the virus across B.C., and the province has now seen 2,001 confirmed fatalities from the virus since the pandemic began.

Hospitalizations have risen slightly today, to 360 contagious patients across B.C., with 137 of those patients in intensive care.

Despite a promise from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry last month, the government continues to not report the true number of hospitalizations – by counting only contagious patients and not those whose infectious period has ended but remain in hospital battling the virus.

Elsewhere in B.C., there were 265 new cases in Fraser Health, 196 in Northern Health, 70 in Island Health and 69 in Vancouver Coastal Health.

Another 16,144 vaccine doses have been administered in the past day, and now 88.6 per cent of people 12 and older in B.C. have received at least one dose while 82.2 per cent of those people are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, a small outbreak of the virus at Royal Inland Hospital has been declared over today. The outbreak had been declared on Sep. 28 in surgical unit 6 North, with two cases, however it did not grow beyond that.

A COVID-19 outbreak remains active at the Overlanders Long Term Care centre in Brocklehurst, and another death was reported in the facility today. There have now been 26 cases, including 20 residents and six staff, and now three residents there have died.