18.28°C Vancouver

Aug 11, 2021 11:49 PM -

Three month high for COVID-19 case count in British Columbia

Share On
three-month-high-for-covid-19-case-count-in-british-columbia
B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry during a press briefing in Victoria. (Photo - B.C. Govt.)

The COVID-19 infection rate in British Columbia has leaped to 536, a figure not seen since mid-May.

A Health Ministry statement says there are more than 3,500 active cases in the province and more than half of those are in the Interior Health region.

New restrictions were introduced last week by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in the central Okanagan region as case counts multiplied, spurred by the more contagious Delta variant.

There has been one more death and outbreaks are increasing in B.C.'s long-term care sector, with the discovery of COVID-19 in eight care homes around the province.

The vaccination rate has reached 82.2 per cent for a single shot for those eligible aged 12 and up, while 71.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.

At a separate news conference, Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix were asked about the federal plan to introduce so-called vaccine passports, and they say they support any measure that encourages people to get immunized.

Latest news

alberta-byelection-called-for-aug-18-giving-poilievre-path-to-house
AlbertaJun 30, 2025

Alberta byelection called for Aug. 18, giving Poilievre path to House

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a byelection for the riding of Battle River — Crowfoot in Alberta for Aug. 18. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is expected to run in the riding after losing his Ottawa-area seat in the April to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy. Former Conservative MP Damien Kurek resigned the seat earlier this month to clear the way for Poilievre to run after winning the seat with 82 per cent of the vote.
CanadaJun 30, 2025

Teen arrested after unprovoked machete attack

A 15-year-old boy in Winnipeg is accused of attacking a 68-year-old man with a machete. Police say the assault on Friday night was random and happened while the man was walking past a Salvation Army on Henry Avenue. He was taken to hospital and police say he will require surgery. They say witnesses detained the boy until police arrived, and that officers recovered two machetes during the arrest.
alberta-judge-grants-injunction-blocking-a-transgender-health-care-bill
AlbertaJun 30, 2025

Alberta judge grants injunction blocking a transgender health-care bill

An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment, has issued a temporary injunction against the law, saying it raises serious issues that need to be hashed out in court. Kuntz says a temporary stop to the law is needed to prevent what she calls ``irreparable harm'' coming to young patients while the issue is debated. The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, would have prevented doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to th
b-c-minister-bowinn-ma-tells-of-frightening-incident-at-her-constituency-office
BCJun 27, 2025

B.C. minister Bowinn Ma tells of 'frightening' incident at her constituency office

British Columbia's Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says there was a "frightening" security incident at her constituency office in North Vancouver early Friday. Ma says in a statement that all meetings and appointments at the office have been cancelled for the day. Her statement says that thankfully, nobody was injured, and she appreciates the concern expressed by community members. Ma doesn't describe the incident and says due to an active police investigation, she won't be able to provide more details about what happened. She says she wants to thank the officers who responded to the inciden
trump-terminating-trade-talks-with-canada-over-digital-tax
WorldJun 27, 2025

Trump 'terminating' trade talks with Canada over digital tax

U-S President Donald Trump says he is immediately ending all trade talks with Canada. The sudden termination is over Canada's plan to go ahead with its digital services tax on big U-S tech companies that do business here. The tax is set to take effect Monday but would be retroactive for the past three years, leaving U-S companies with atwo-billion-dollar U-S bill due at the end of the month. Trump says Washington will notify Canada about new tariff rates within the next week.

Related News