One year since the first person died as a result of COVID-19 in B.C., 182 new cases linked to variants of concern reported

BC health officials say it's been one year since the first person in the province has died as a result of COVID-19, and since then there's been almost 1,400 other deaths.

A joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting 550 new cases today and another two deaths.

There are almost 5,000 active cases and of those, 249 people are in hospital, 68 of them in intensive care.

There's been another 182 new cases linked to variants of concern for a total of 576 cases, many of them connected to the strain first found in the United Kingdom.

More than 343,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with almost 87,000 of those being second doses.

There's been one new outbreak at Fleetwood Place care facility in Surrey, while two other outbreaks, at Fleetwood Villa and Glacier View Lodge, are now over.