1,478 new COVID-19 cases and 8 deaths reported in B.C.; 42 new cases are variants of concern

More than 275 thousand COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC, but that isn't nearly enough to prevent new health facility outbreaks at Glacier View Lodge, Chilliwack General Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital.

However, several outbreaks were also declared over, including one at St. Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver.

BC is reporting 1,478 new COVID-19 infections from Saturday to Monday, for a total of 80,672 cases in the province since the pandemic began.

There are 4,464 people with active cases in the province, of whom 236 are hospitalized and 65 are in intensive care.

42 new cases are variants of concern, for a total of 158 cases.

Of those, 137 cases are the strain first identified in the United Kingdom, while 21 are the variant first found in South Africa.

There have been eight new deaths linked to COVID-19, bringing the toll to 1,363 fatalities.