B.C. reports 1,262 COVID-19 cases; Active cases rise past 9,500

British Columbia is reporting nearly 1,300 cases of COVID-19 for a second day in a row as the province marks a milestone by administering a million doses of vaccine.

Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint release that only 87,600 of the shots are second doses and everyone must continue following all public health orders.

They are reporting 1,262 new cases and are asking people to avoid travel and indoor gatherings outside of a household, adding that even people who have mild symptoms should get tested for infection.

Another two people have died from complications of COVID-19, for a total of 1,495 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

There are currently 4,111 confirmed cases involving variants of concern, with nearly a quarter of cases identified as the highly transmissible variant associated with Brazil.

Residents aged 65 and older, Indigenous people 18 and over and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and have received a letter from the province about their condition can now register for a vaccine.

The province is also running a parallel program to administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to people between the ages of 55 and 65 through their local pharmacies.