B.C. COVID-19 case count grows by 706; outbreak at Nicola Meadows declared over

MERRITT, B.C. — The provincial health ministry is reporting 706 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. Thursday (Sept. 16), with hospitalizations creeping closer to 300.

In a news release, the ministry says 213 of the new cases were found in Interior Health, the highest total of any health authority in the province.

While the active caseload in B.C. is up marginally to 5,844, the active total in IH is down to 1,504.

There are 291 people in hospital, including 134 in intensive care.

Four more people have died of the virus, raising the overall B.C. death toll to 1,877.

In a positive note for Interior residents, the outbreak at Nicola Meadows in Merritt has been declared over. There was seven cases of the virus associated with the facility, four residents and three staff, and one death during the outbreak.

Twenty-three outbreaks remain active in B.C., including at Kamloops Seniors Village, The Hamlets in Westsyde and Hillside Village in Salmon Arm.

The single-dose vaccination rate is 86.3 per cent for eligible British Columbians aged 12 and older. The two-dose rate has reached 78.8 per cent.