Interior Health’s Omicron cases double as B.C. records another record high

Dec 23, 2021 | 4:17 PM Liam Verster

For the third day in a row B.C. had record high new daily COVID-19 cases.

The province confirmed 2,046 new cases Thursday, bringing the active case count up to 8,739.

Of those cases, 123 were in the Interior, where the active case count was 699.

The total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the Interior also more than doubled from Tuesday’s number, reaching 19 Thursday.

There have now been 975 cases of the Omicron variant in B.C.

The number of British Columbians hospitalized due to COVID-19 complications rose to 195, with 75 patients in intensive care.

There was one death reported in the Island Health region, bringing B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll up to 2,410.

The provincial COVID-19 vaccination rates for residents aged five and over rose to 87.7 per cent for first doses and 82.7 per cent for second doses. Looking at just those aged 12 and over, the vaccination rates were 91.8 per cent for first doses, 89 per cent for second jabs, and 17 per cent for third or booster shots.

There were no new health-care facility outbreaks listed Thursday. The only active outbreak site in B.C. is the Lions Gate Hospital in Vancouver Coastal Health.