VICTORIA — British Columbia officials say there are two new COVID-19 outbreaks at health-care facilities in the province for a total of 56, most of them in long-term care homes.
A statement Thursday from the Health Ministry says the COVID-19 outbreaks are at Trinity Care Centre in Penticton and Gillis House in Merritt.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry changed visitor guidelines to care homes this week saying "one-size-fits-all" restrictions are no longer needed because the facilities are not seeing severe illness with high levels of vaccination and booster doses among residents and staff.
Officials say more than 90 per cent of those eligible aged 12 and older have had two shots of a vaccine, while 47 per cent of those have had a booster dose.
There have been 13 new deaths related to COVID-19 for a total of 2,656 fatalities.
Officials say there are 25,554 active cases of COVID-19, of which 985 are in hospital and 145 in intensive care.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2022.
The Canadian Press
