COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations declining

Mar 7, 2022 | 4:40 PM Pete McIntyre

The number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decrease in British Columbia.

Figures from the Health Ministry on Monday indicated 997 new infections over the weekend.

That included 385 on Saturday, 327 on Sunday and 285 new cases today.

Interior Health had the second most new cases of the five health authorities with 242 including 64 today.

The rest of the new cases since Friday included:

* Fraser Health: 263

* Vancouver Coastal Health: 209

* Island Health: 204

* Northern Health: 79

There are 449 people hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 35 since Friday) and 63 are in intensive care (down by 6).

Over the weekend, 11 more people died from the virus for an overall total of 2,914.

The new deaths included three in Interior Health, six in Fraser Health, and one each in Northern and Island Health.

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreaks at Menno Home, Cascade Gardens Seniors Community (Fraser Health) and Sun Pointe Village in Kelowna (Interior Health) have been declared over, for a total of 17 facilities with ongoing outbreaks, eight in Interior Health:

Three Links Manor retirement home in Kelowna
Mission Creek Landing retirement home in Kelowna
Hillside Village nursing home in Salmon Arm
Ponderosa assisted living in Kamloops
Overlander Residential Care in Kamloops
Gillis House nursing home in Merritt
Fischer Place assisted living in 100 Mile House
Williams Lake Seniors Village

As of Monday, 90.7 per cent of eligible people five and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 86.5 per cent have had two shots and 56.2 per cent of residents 12 and older have had a booster dose.

From Feb. 25 to March 3, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 19.1 per cent of cases. From Feb. 18 to March 3, they accounted for 31.9 per cent of hospitalizations.