B.C. records almost 1,900 new COVID-19 cases in two days

More than 300 people are hospitalized, including 96 in the ICU.

The government previously reported that 1,018 cases were identified from Thursday to Friday and 1,072 were identified from Friday to Saturday, but Henry and Dix said those numbers were preliminary. Of those, 588 are now active.

"What we know is the most transmissive varieties, the variants of COVID-19, are ultimately going to take over", he said.

"Now is not the time to bend the rules - it's time for us to work together again to bend the curve", Henry said.

Hays County has tallied 671 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days.

A total of 90 people are now in intensive care in B.C., Dix and Henry said in their statement. A total of 94,806 people who tested positive have recovered.

To date, almost 770,000 eligible British Columbians - or one in six - have received their first dose of vaccine, and more than 87,000 have received their second dose. "It will be for everyone to judge once it goes live".

The province is launching its new vaccine appointment registration system at 8 a.m. Tuesday, when anyone 71 or older and Indigenous residents 18 and older can book their shot.

While health officials didn't provide a breakdown of how many Island cases were recorded from April 1 to 2 versus from April 2 to 3, the daily average over the two days was 73.5, well above the previous single-day record. This includes 2,771 cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 51 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant, and 737 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.

Please note that some data are not available over the long weekend, including data on variants and hospitalizations.

Of the 318 people in hospital, 60 are linked to variants of concern, he said. "We can manage but it puts a lot of pressure on staff".

He also noted that some individual hospitals are struggling with large numbers of COVID-19 patients, including Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, Surrey Memorial Hospital and Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

It has been a week since B.C. announced temporary restrictions on indoor dining and indoor group fitness intended as a "circuit breaker" to stop the spread.

He also acknowledged that a higher proportion of younger people are becoming ill from the disease.