B.C. announces record-breaking 1,293 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths

B.C. has recorded1,293 new COVID-19 cases, breaking a previously held single-day record.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry also announced on Thursdaythat the province will no longer be sequencing all positive COVID-19 cases to determine whether they arevariants of concern, and instead will beassumingthat all positive cases are a highly infectious variant.

Henry saidexisting health measuresremain the same regardless of what strain someone is infected with but emphasized the need for everyone in B.C. to follow current restrictions on gatherings.

"It is not OKto have friends and family over right now. It is not OK to go on a weekend getaway. That is not essentialnor is your ski trip just because you have a pass. It is not OK to have a wedding, a birthday. All of these need to be postponed for now," she said.

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The provincial health officer pleaded with British Columbians to put gatherings and vacation plans on hold as the province announced a record-breaking 1,293 cases.

Henry also announced a new workplace closure order that will allow WorkSafeBCto operate under the Public Health Act. When three or more employees at a workplace test positive for COVID-19, it will be closed down for 10 days. Essential workplaces like police departments, fire stationsand grocery stores are exempt. Schools arealso exempt from thenew regulations.

Two additional people have died in the province, for a total of1,493 COVID-related deaths in B.C.There are currently 336 people in hospital, with 101 in critical care.

"What we have seen is a noticeable increase in transmission in B.C. and I don't need to tell you that," she said, adding the spread is fuelled by social gatherings that then spread into workplaces.

"It's not one or two people getting sick; the transmissibility is spreading so quickly. It's everyone in a household."

Province provides data on variants

Henry previously said that the B117 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, appears to have the "competitive advantage" in this province.

There have also been growing numbers of cases involving the P1 variant first identified in Brazil, including clusters in Whistler and the Lower Mainland. People aged 20 to 39 are currently over-representedamong those withP1 cases.

Last week, 410 people in the Howe Sound local healthregion, which includes Whistler, tested positive for COVID-19 exactly one per cent of that region's population.

But Henry said so far there has not been a dramatic increase in hospitalizations by age or by variants. She said a high test positive rate for those aged 10 to 14 is connected to travel over March break, and anyone who travelled or had social interactions in that period should self monitor and not attend work or school if they are sick.

Vaccinations continue

So far,985,001 doses of vaccine have been administered in B.C., with 87,564 of those being second shots.

B.C.'s online registration system for COVID-19 vaccine appointments opened to eligible adults on Tuesday morning, as the province overhauls its current program for making bookings.

The new"Get Vaccinated" system was made available at 8 a.m. PT. on April 6.

People65 and older and Indigenous peopleover 18can now register and book their vaccine appointment online, by phone, or in person.

British Columbians who have received a letter of eligibility and are clinically extremely vulnerable are now also able to register online to book their appointment.

As of Wednesday, almost 20 per cent of those who are eligible for a vaccine in B.C.had receivedtheir shot, and 80 per cent of those above the age of 80 have been vaccinated.