Interior Health recorded just 39 COVID-19 cases Tuesday, booster doses rolled out in B.C.

Interior Health’s active COVID-19 case count fell to 683 Tuesday as just 39 new cases were recorded in the health region.

IH had the lowest new case numbers compared to every other health jurisdiction as 338 cases were recorded across B.C. Tuesday .

The provincial first dose COVID-19 vaccination rate rose to 90.7 per cent Tuesday, and 86.8 per cent of British Columbians aged 12 and over have now received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Minister of Health Adrian Dix noted that, as of Tuesday, 242,460 British Columbians, or about five per cent of the eligible population, have received booster shots.

“Importantly, almost 150,000 of those were for people over [the age of] 70. That’s 20 per cent of that population, and certainly, I would say, shows the significant efforts that continue to be made in this period to make sure that our most vulnerable people in B.C. are safe,” said Dix.

He added that the amount of unvaccinated health care workers in B.C. is 2,285, or one per cent of the health sector workforce.

The province stated that 376 British Columbians were in hospital due to complications from COVID-19, 107 of whom are in intensive care.

Data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows that the unvaccinated made up 55.7 per cent of new cases in the past week and 61.1 per cent of hospitalizations in the past two weeks. The fully vaccinated accounted for 39.6 per cent of the new cases over that last week and 31.5 per cent of hospitalizations over the past two weeks.

There was one death recorded in the Fraser Health area Tuesday, bringing the provincial COVID-19 death-toll to 2,274.

A new health-care facility outbreak was announced in the Fraser Health area as another from the jurisdiction was declared over Tuesday. A total of 23 health-care facilities are considered outbreak sites, four of which are 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: four resident and two staff cases
• Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops:
  • Unit 5s: 20 patient and seven staff/other cases, two deaths
  • Unit 7N: four patient and one staff/other cases
  • Unit 6S: 10 patient cases
  • Unit 5N: five patient and three staff/other cases

Dix said Tuesday that the health care outbreaks, particularly in the Royal Inland Hospital, are continuing to create backlogs in surgeries and services.

“COVID outbreaks at the Royal Inland Hospital have caused the reduction of six operating rooms. While the outbreaks are managed, three operating rooms remain open for emergency surgeries, urgent cancer surgeries, and urgent c-sections,” said Dix.

“We will resume scheduled surgeries at the hospital when it is again safe to do so. That has always been our commitment, and it remains our commitment.”

He noted that those challenges are amplified as the flooding in Merritt has forced the closure of the hospital there, and is creating additional strain on other Interior Health hospitals.

Dr. Henry noted during Tuesday’s announcement that, as Health Canada reviews the applications of vaccinations for children aged five to 11, people can start registering to get their children vaccinated.

“By registering now your children will likely, we expect, be able to receive this vaccine before the upcoming holidays,” said Henry.

“I encourage parents to think about this now. Of course there’s concerns, we all want to make sure that we’re doing the best for our children, and we want to make sure that these vaccines are safe and are going to work. So speak to your family doctor, your pediatrician, your pharmacist, get that information that will help you make those decisions about what’s right for your child.”

She also encouraged parents use established and credible scientific resources, such as those listed on the BCCDC’s website, to make their decision, and to visit the #ItDoesntHaveToHurt program website, which is a resource that people can use to find ways to help their children with pain management.

Henry added that the child-size doses are about a tenth of the amount given to adults and are tailored for the immune systems of children to reduce the risk of side effects and pain while still providing strong protection against the virus.

B.C has been assured that, if approved for use in Canada, there will be enough child-sized doses made available for the 300,000 children in the province.

The provincial health officer also said Tuesday that she and other officials are considering the “harmonization” of COVID-19 restrictions across the province going into winter.

Henry said the basics will be the same for everyone heading into a challenging period to keep the virus from “taking off again.”

Henry expects there will be some additional restrictions in areas where transmission remains high and immunization rates are low, such as the Northern Health region, parts of the Interior and the eastern Fraser Valley.

She says colder weather is pushing people indoors for gatherings and it’s important that people take extra precautions, including wearing face coverings.