B.C. COVID-19 case count at 525 Tuesday; hospital admissions spike

VICTORIA — B.C. has seen a concerning spike in hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

According to data released by the province’s health ministry Tuesday (Sept. 21), there are now 332 people in hospital with the virus in the province, an increase of 25 from Monday. There are 155 people in intensive care.

Over the past week, the proportion of unvaccinated people in new COVID-19 cases is 76.1 per cent. Unvaccinated patients account for 84.7 per cent of all hospitalizations caused by COVID-19 in the past two weeks.

B.C. recorded 525 new cases of the virus Tuesday, including 147 in Interior Health.

The active caseload in the province is down to 5,282, with the IH total at 1,167.

One person has died of the virus, raising the province’s death toll to an even 1,900 since the pandemic began.

The single-dose vaccination rate has reached 87 per cent for eligible British Columbians 12 and older. The two-dose rate is now 79.5 per cent.

There are 22 active healthcare outbreaks in B.C., including Kamloops Seniors Village (18 cases, one death), The Hamlets at Westsyde (six cases), Overlander Seniors Centre in Brocklehurst (four cases) and Hillside Village in Salmon Arm (10 cases, one death).