Five total cases of COVID-19 variants in BC, Northern Health sees 45 new cases

There are now four confirmed cases of the UK variant of COVID-19 in BC according to BC Health Officials.

Three are linked to the same traveller on Vancouver Island and the fourth is related to a returning traveller in Vancouver Coastal Health.

The province has also reported its first case of the South African variant of the virus, also located in Vancouver Coastal.

The person did not travel, nor do they have known contact with a traveller.

Doctor Bonnie Henry says public health officials don’t believe there is a risk to the public, and the investigation into the source of transmission is underway.

“These variants have been shown in other countries to spread more easily. This means that if left unchecked, they could quickly cause a surge in cases. This is why it is so important to closely monitor our personal health and follow all public health orders and precautions,” she said.

45 more cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Northern Health, for a total of 2696.

Across BC, there were 536 new infections found; 59,608 people have tested positive since the onset of the pandemic.

Seven people died from the virus in the last day, 1038 people have passed away from COVID-19 provincewide.

There are currently 4,624 active cases, including 362 people in the hospital, and 74 people in ICU.

As of today (Thursday) 69,746 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in all health authorities.

52605 have recovered, marking a recovery rate of 88 percent.

7,303 are in self-isolation, not including Northern Health.

BREAKDOWN:

+ 102 – Vancouver Coastal 13,627

+ 253 – Fraser  36,988

+ 21  – Island 1,207

+ 115 – Interior 4,970

+ 45 –  Northern Health 2,696

#COVID19 update: 536 new cases, for a total of 59,608. There are 4,624 active cases and 362 people are in hospital, 74 of whom are in critical care. There have been seven new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,038.

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— BCCDC (@CDCofBC) January 15, 2021