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Mar 9, 2021 3:29 AM -

144 new COVID-19 cases of variants of concern reported in B.C.

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B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry during a news conference in Victoria. (B.C. Government)

BC's top doctor says officials are working with faith leaders on a gradual return to in-person religious services, which have mostly been prohibited since November under COVID-19 restrictions.

Doctor Bonnie Henry says she knows there are many important dates coming up in different faiths and the province will look at easing the rules to meet their specific needs while ensuring certain safety measures remain in place.

She also advised post-secondary institutions to prepare for a full return to on-campus education this fall, with Advanced Education Minister Anne Kang saying the province will create guidelines for the schools.

There have been 11 more deaths and 1,462 new cases of COVID-19 detected in BC over the last three days.

Dr. Henry says some of the latest cases are related to an outbreak at a Kelowna long-term care home in people who already received two doses of vaccine, reminding us that the vaccines don't stop all transmission.

There have been 144 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in the province, for a total of 394 cases.

Of the total cases, 87 are active and the remaining people have recovered.

This includes 363 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant and 31 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant.

More than 330,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province so far.

Call centres were overwhelmed with 1.7 million calls in less than three hours after BC launched its age-based immunization program today, and Dr. Henry urged people who aren't currently eligible to wait their turn.

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