B.C. records 519 new cases of COVID-19, including 44 cases of the omicron variant

Health officials announced 519 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the same day they announced 44 cases of the omicron variant had been identified in B.C.

There were no additional deaths reported.

In a written statement, the provincial government said there are currently  3,171 active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.

A total of 191 people are in hospital, with 81 in intensive care.

Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are down by 21 per cent from last Tuesday, when 242 people were in hospital with the disease and about 49 per cent from a month ago when 376 people were in hospital.

The number of patients in intensive care is down by one case from 82 a week ago and by 30 per cent from last month when 116 people were in the ICU.

The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is now 2,386 lives lost out of 223,661 confirmed cases to date.

The regional breakdown of new cases is as follows: 

• 145 new cases in Interior Health, which has 612 total active cases.
• 123 new cases in Island Health, which has 804 total active cases.
• 110 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 872 total active cases.
• 106 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 669 total active cases. 
• 34 new cases in Northern Health, which has 213 total active cases.
• There is one new case among people who reside outside of Canada, a group which has one active case, total.

There are a total of two active outbreaks in assisted living and long-term and acute care.

The outbreak at the Ridge Meadows Hospital was declared over by Fraser Health Tuesday afternoon.

As of Tuesday, 91.5 per cent of those 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 88.6 per cent a second dose and 13 per cent a third dose.

When taking into account those five and older, 86.6 per cent of people in B.C. had received a first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine and 82.4 per cent a second dose.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says unvaccinated British Columbians are 56 times more likely to end up in critical care due to COVID-19 compared to people who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

So far, nine million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 4.1 million second doses.

Omicron spreading 

There are at least 44 cases of the omicron variant of concern in B.C., according to health officials, and cases have been found in all five health authorities, including:

• 24 cases in Fraser Health.
• 11 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health.
• Five cases in Island Health.
• Three cases in Interior Health.
• One case in Northern Health.

The majority of omicron cases in Island Health are linked to an outbreak among students at the University of Victoria. As of Monday, four omicron cases had been linked to that cluster.

Twenty of the cases involve people who had recently travelled to other countries like Egypt, Germany, Iran, Portugal, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States. 

Seven of the identified cases involved people who were not vaccinated.

No one who has tested positive for the omicron variant has been hospitalized.

Canadian leaders meet

The prime minister and Canada's premiers were scheduled to meet Tuesday evening to discuss omicron.

Sources told CBC News that high level conversations had been happening in Ottawa Tuesday regarding possible travel restrictions to reduce the spread of the new variant.

A summary of a call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier Horgan said the two spoke about the importance of accelerating booster vaccine doses and vaccinating children. 

1 year of vaccines in B.C.

B.C. is marking one-year of vaccination in the province this week. On Dec. 14, 2020, the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the province, and the next day the first dose was administered to long-term care aide Nisha Yunus.

Since then, more than 4.3 million people have been vaccinated against the virus in B.C., most of whom have had two doses. 

"I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all the health-care workers who have helped people get vaccinated over the past year," Premier John Horgan said in a news release. 

"We all want to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families. The COVID-19 vaccine is proven to be safe and effective and is bringing us one step further in putting the pandemic behind us."