There were 56 new cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region reported on Friday, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
The number of active cases in the region rose by 16, to 311. As of Friday, 14 people in the Northern Health region were hospitalized with COVID-19, including nine in critical care.
No new COVID-related deaths were reported in B.C. on Friday, leaving the provincial death toll from the pandemic at 1,387 – including 110 people in the north.
Northern Health reported new COVID-19 exposures at Prince George Secondary School and Pineview Elementary School from March 3 to March 5.
"Today, we are reporting 648 new cases, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 86,867 cases in British Columbia," provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement issued on Friday. "There are 5,070 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 9,155 people under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases."
A total of 255 people in B.C. were hospitalized with COVID-19, of which 67 were in intensive care, Henry and Dix said.
"There have been 79 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 717 cases," they said. "Of the total cases, 99 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 667 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 36 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 14 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant."
A total of 380,743 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in B.C. as of Friday, including 12,485 in the Northern Health region.
Currently Prince George area residents aged 80 and older – 65 and older for First Nations members – can call 1-844-255-7555 to book their appointment. The vaccine booking line is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Northern Health will be opening its mass vaccination clinic at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre on Tuesday (see story).
"The three vaccines we have available and in use throughout B.C. are a safe and effective way to protect people around the province," Henry and Dix said. "From the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our objective has been to find and maintain our balance – to protect everyone in our province and keep what we can open. The (public health) order now allows for gatherings of up to 10 people outside, but does not apply to any indoor locations. The orders for restaurants and bars continue, as does the need to follow all COVID-19 safety plans – at work or school, when we are out for dinner or going to the grocery store."
