Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, today (May 19) issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia.

Today, we are reporting 521 new cases, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 140,596 cases in British Columbia.

There are 4,815 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 133,985 people who tested positive have recovered.

Of the active cases, 340 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 118 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Since we last reported, we have had 77 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 335 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 18 in the Island Health region, 62 in the Interior Health region, 29 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.

There have been eight new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,658 deaths in British Columbia. Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19.

We have one new health-care facility outbreak at Heritage Manor (Northern Health) and the outbreak at Sandalwood Retirement Resort is over.

To date, 2,623,907 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 135,246 of which are second doses.

Getting everyone in our province immunized is our pathway forward through the COVID-19 pandemic. This will ensure we have enough protection and community immunity to allow us to slowly lift public health and travel restrictions. Today, young people 12 to 17 years old may register to receive their vaccine, with more details to come tomorrow.

For anyone immunized before April 15, prior to our online system launching, our immunization system has your vaccine information, but may not have your contact information. This is why it is important for everyone to register – to simplify notification for your second dose booking when it is your turn.

If you are unsure, call 1-833-838-2323 to make sure you are registered or register online at: https://gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated

If you have yet to book your first dose of vaccine, go online today and join the millions of people who have received their vaccine or booked their appointment for the coming days.

Help us put the pandemic behind us by staying small and local, and ensuring you are registered and booked for your vaccine today.

Lead image: COVID-19 rules at the entry to a downtown Fernie business. Carrie Schafer/e-KNOW photo

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