The number of COVID-19 patients in B.C. hospitals fell overnight by 15, to 273, after a surge yesterday (March 28) prompted fears that the number could rise again over 300.
The number of those patients had fallen in 30 consecutive government data updates until March 22, when the total dipped to 254. Since then, the number has remained within the range of 254, and yesterday's high of 288.
These numbers are far below the province's record 1,048 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Jan. 31.
Of those now in hospital 46 are in intensive care units (ICUs.) B.C.'s record number of COVID-19 ICU patients was 178 eleven months ago, on April 29.
One more known COVID-19 death raises the province's pandemic death toll to 2,990.
One new outbreak at a seniors' home is at Ayre Manor in Sooke. That outbreak is one of seven active outbreaks in seniors' homes or health-care facilities.
Officials detected 287 new infections in the past day. The positive-test rate has been holding steady at between five and six per cent in each of the last few data updates.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, however, has told vaccinated people with mild symptoms to not get tested so as to free up tests for those who are more vulnerable. As a result she has called the daily case counts "not accurate."
The B.C. government on Feb. 10 stopped providing data for active infections, and the number of those considered to have recovered from COVID-19, for that reason.
Victoria does, however, still provide data for new known infections, and its cumulative total for infections is now 355,935.
Vaccinations help limit the spread of the disease that spawned a global pandemic, and help reduce the seriousness of infections that do occur.
The vast majority of British Columbians are already vaccinated.
In total, 4,527,947 eligible B.C. residents have had at least one dose of vaccine, while 4,350,994 are considered fully vaccinated with two doses, and 2,663,607 have had three doses.
Recent Statistics Canada 2021 census data counted 5,000,879 residents in B.C.
Glacier Media's calculation therefore is that more than 90.5 per cent of B.C.'s total population has had at least one dose of vaccine, and more than 87% per cent of the province's total population has had two doses. More than 53.2 per cent have had their third, or booster doses. •
