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BC reports 2,137 new COVID-19 cases, adjusts vax card requirements for 12-year-olds

Health officials in British Columbia reported 2,137 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours.

There are currently 30,515 active cases of the virus in the province, and while that number is artificially capped by testing limitations, the province’s test positivity rate remains steady around 22%.

After a decrease on Wednesday, the number of COVID-positive people in hospital went up for the second straight day today, from 977 to 990.

The number of COVID-positive people in critical care remained at 141.

<who>Photo Credit: 123rf

Unfortunately, there were nine new COVID-19 deaths reported in BC since Thursday, including five in Fraser Health, three in Vancouver Coastal Health and one in Northern Health.

While there were seven new healthcare facility outbreaks declared, another 11 were declared over and the province ended the week with 58 active outbreaks.

Some provincial health order changes addressed by Dr. Bonnie Henry on Tuesday were made official today.

One of those changes allows for the resumption of youth sports tournaments on Tuesday.

However, the Ministry of Education has said that school sports tournaments will remain prohibited beyond Tuesday.

The PHO also made an adjustment to the proof of vaccination requirement for 12-year-olds to only require one dose of vaccine for entry to any event or setting where the BC Vaccine Card is required.

<who>Photo Credit: Canadian Press

“It has been reported to public health that 11-year-olds who have had one dose of pediatric vaccine and are able to enter these settings are then blocked from entry when they turn 12 because they only have one dose of vaccine and have not had time to get a second dose,” a statement from the Province explained.

“This change is aimed at fairness for this age group, while they are waiting for the recommended time to receive their second dose.”

As of today, 92.7% of eligible people 12 and older in BC have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 90% have received their second dose and 43.9% have received a booster.

Those numbers jump to 93%, 90.5% and 47% respectively when looking at adults only.

For the entire eligible population, which is five years old and up, 89.8% have received their first dose and 83.8% have received their second dose.

According to provincial data released today, 51% of BC children aged 5-11 have received their first dose.

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 10,640,763 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer Pediatric COVID-19 vaccines.

For the second straight day, however, the provincial data on cases and hospitalizations by vaccination status and adjusted for age is unavailable.



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