Skip to content

B.C. records lowest daily total of new COVID-19 deaths in more than nine weeks

Four more fatalities from COVID-19 in B.C. raise the province's death toll from the virus to 1,172.
Dr. Bonnie Henry
Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry regularly provides updates on COVID-19 in B.C.

B.C. recorded four new COVID-19 deaths on January 27 – the lowest total of new deaths in a day since November 21, when there were also four deaths. The last time there were fewer than four deaths in a day in the province was November 19, when one person was identified as having died because of the virus.

B.C.'s death toll from the virus that has spawned a global pandemic is now 1,172.

This good news of fewer deaths comes after most residents and staff at B.C.'s seniors' homes have been vaccinated. Seniors, by far, have been the hardest hit demographic by the virus.

Other good news is that the number of serious COVID-19 infections is also falling. There are now 303 people in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19-related illnesses. That is the lowest number of hospitalizations since November 27, when there were 301 people in those facilities. Of those in hospital, 74 are now in intensive care units.

New daily totals of case counts have stabilized at around 500, which is lower than it has been in recent months but a level that provincial health officer Bonnie Henry still considers too high. There were 485 new infections identified overnight, for a total of 65,719 infections since the first case was confirmed on January 28, 2020 – a year ago tomorrow. That case tested positive for the virus in B.C. a year ago today, but in order for it to be confirmed, it had to also test positive at a federal lab in Winnipeg.

The breakdown of where the 485 new cases are located is as follows:

• 115 people in Vancouver Coastal Health (23.7%);
• 210 people in Fraser Health (42.2%);
• 45 in Island Health (9.3%);
• 83 in Interior Health (17.1%); and
• 32 in Northern Health (6.6%).

More than 89%, or 58,778 people out of the 65,719 individuals who have been infected in the past year, are considered to have recovered.

The number of people actively fighting infections rose by 39 overnight, to 4,299.
The lack of new vaccine supplies has crimped the province's vaccination efforts, as only 2,006 people were vaccinated in the past day – the lowest number since January 13, when a glitch in getting new supplies meant that only 1,136 people were vaccinated in a 24-hour period. So far, 124,365 vaccine doses have been administered since vaccinations started on December 16. More than 4,100 people have received second doses.

"We have one new health-care facility outbreak at Glenwood Seniors Community [in Agassiz,] and the outbreak at Villa Cathay [in Vancouver] is now over," Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement. "There is also an outbreak at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre."

There remain 10 B.C. hospitals identified as having active COVID-19 outbreaks. They are:

• Burnaby Hospital in Burnaby;
• Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake;
• Chilliwack General Hospital in Chilliwack;
• Mount St. Joseph's Hospital in Vancouver;
• Nanaimo Regional General Hospital in Nanaimo;
• Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster;
• Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops;
• St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver;
• Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey; and
• University Hospital of Northern B.C. in Prince George.

The three active outbreaks at seniors' living facilities in Vancouver Coastal Health are at:

• Hilltop House in Squamish;
• Little Mountain Place in Vancouver; and
• Minoru Residence in Richmond.

There are 16 active outbreaks at seniors' living facilities in Fraser Health. They are at:

• Brookside Lodge in Surrey;
• Eagle Ridge Manor in Port Moody;
• Evergreen Baptist Care Society in White Rock;
• George Derby Centre in Burnaby;
• Glenwood Seniors Community in Agassiz;
• Hilton Villa Seniors Community in Surrey;
• Kin Village in Tsawwassen;
• Kin Village West Court in Tsawwassen;
• Madison Care Centre in Coquitlam;
• Mayfair Seniors Living Care in Abbotsford;
• Morgan Place Care Facility in Surrey
• Nicola Lodge in Port Coquitlam;
• Rideau Retirement Residence in Burnaby;
• Royal City Manor in New Westminster;
• St. Michael's Centre Extended Care in Burnaby; and
• Suncreek Village in Surrey.

The two active outbreaks at a seniors' living facilities in Northern Health are at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George, and Acropolis Manor in Prince Rupert.

The six active outbreaks at seniors' living facilities in Interior Health are at:

• Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre in Kamloops;
• Creekside Landing in Vernon;
• Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna;
• Heritage Square in Vernon;
• Noric House in Vernon; and
• Sunnybank Retirement Home in Oliver.

The only outbreak at a seniors' facility in Island Health is at Chartwell Malaspina Care Residence in Nanaimo.

gkorstrom@biv.com

@GlenKorstrom