Sixty-three new cases of COVID-19 were reported between Tuesday and Wednesday in the region served by Interior Health.
That continued a downward trend from the 100-plus new cases that were reported on several days in January.
Province-wide, 414 new cases were reported Tuesday, about half the number that were being detected daily in early December.
There are 4,426 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., with 278 people being treated in hospital; the rest are recovering at home.
Although new case counts have been on a downward trend, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix suggested more enforcement of COVID-19 protocols is on the way.
“Where we see locations with high transmissions, public health teams and WorkSafeBC will increase surveillance, focus their investigations, and, if need be, take further action to close the gap,” they said in a joint statement.
Just over 142,000 British Columbians have received their first of two COVID-19 vaccine shots, a number little changed in recent days due to slowdowns in global deliveries.
Dix and Henry repeated calls for people to remain in their household bubbles, avoid socializing with others, and not engage in unnecessary travel.
“Until the COVID-19 vaccines are available for all of us, let’s choose less and choose small. This is the path forward to brighter days ahead,” they said.
Also Wednesday, the BC Centre for Disease Control released its latest surveillance report on the COVID-19 situation across the province.
It shows the number of new cases now being reported weekly across B.C. is almost half the number recorded in mid-November, 59 cases per 100,000 of population compared to 103 per 100,000 of population.
The incidence of new cases is highest in the Northern Health and Fraser Health authorities. The incidence of new cases in the Interior Health Authority is equal to the provincial average, and it’s two-thirds below the provincial average on Vancouver Island.
