The Oceanside local health area recorded seven new COVID-19 cases from May 16–22, a slight decrease from the nine infections reported the week before.
The Greater Nanaimo local health area saw 26 new COVID-19 cases, a slight increase from the 22 recorded the previous week.
There are 92 active COVID-19 cases in the Island Health region. Of those, 37 are in the central island region, 32 are in the south island and 23 are in the north, according to Island Health. The BC Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) dashboard shows 11 people in hospital in the region, including two in critical care. No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported in Island Health.
B.C. reported 378 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths since yesterday. There are now 3,543 active cases, including 286 people hospitalized with the virus, 88 of them in critical care, according to the BC CDC.
The province has administered 3,032,811 doses of the three COVID-19 vaccines, 156,730 of which are second doses, according to Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer.
Henry announced the province will reduce the interval between vaccine doses to about eight weeks.
“We know that the booster dose builds on the antibodies and the cell response you get from your first dose and provides more durable and longer lasting protection. So second doses are incredibly important,” she said.
Across B.C., 137,929 people have recovered from COVID-19, including 4,860 in Island Health.
