One COVID-19 death reported in the Interior, 11 across B.C.

Interior Health’s COVID-19 death toll is now 281, as one death linked to the virus was confirmed in the region Wednesday.

The fatality was one of 11 across B.C., raising the provincial total to 2,234.

There were 114 new COVID cases reported in the Interior, bringing the active case count up to 766.

The new cases were part of 555 recorded across B.C., and the province’s active case count as of Wednesday was 4,321.

The Ministry of Health and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control state that on the past week, the unvaccinated have accounted for 57.9 per cent of new cases, while the fully vaccinated have made up 36.9 per cent.

The province reported that hospitalizations due to COVID-19 complications was 404 Wednesday, with 117 of those patients in intensive care.

The provincial figures show that, over the past two weeks, 65 per cent of new COVID-19 hospitalizations have been unvaccinated individuals, while 29.3 per cent of patients were double dosed.

The Ministry of Health noted that, as of Wednesday, 90.5 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and over have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the second dose rate was 86.4 per cent.

Three new health-care facility outbreaks were declared Wednesday, including one at the Royal Inland Hospital in the Interior. There were also six outbreaks declared over Wednesday, including the Cottonwoods Care Centre in Kelowna.

Interior Health notes that the Cottonwoods Care Centre outbreak was “challenging” as it accounted for 17 deaths and 70 cases in the region.

“This has been our longest COVID-19 outbreak and it has really been a team effort to get this outbreak under control and declared over,” said Dr. Sue Pollock, Interior Health interim chief medical health officer.

“The additional steps we are taking across all long-term care sites, including providing booster doses to residents and requiring proof of vaccine for visitors and staff, continue to be important to limiting the spread of this virus.”

As of Wednesday there were 29 active health-care facility outbreaks across B.C., four of which are located in the Interior.

• Village by the Station long-term care in Penticton: 27 resident and 14 staff cases, three deaths
• Sun Pointe Village long-term care in Kelowna: seven resident and three staff cases
• Brocklehurst Gemstone long-term care in Kamloops: seven resident and three staff cases
• Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops: Unit 5S has 19 patient and seven staff cases, one death. Unit 7N has four patient cases

Millar College of the Bible in Tappen is also considered an outbreak site, with 31 cases associated to the site.