What you need to know about COVID-19 in B.C. for Feb. 26

THE LATEST:

• Health Canada has approved a third COVID-19 vaccine.
• B.C. recorded589 new cases and sevenmore deaths on Friday.
• As of Friday, there are4,665 active casesin the province.
• A total of232people are in hospital, including 63in intensive care.
• To date, 1,355 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C. out of79,262confirmed cases.
• 252,373 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including73,808 second doses.
• There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks.

There's no end in sight for the current rules banning all social gatherings in B.C., as officials warn of "potential for rapid growth" in the province's caseload.

On Friday B.C. recorded589 new cases of COVID-19 and sevenmore deaths.

The update, provided in a written statement fromProvincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, saidthere are4,665 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of those, 232 people are in hospital, including 63in intensive care.

To date, 1,355 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C. out of79,262confirmed cases.Meanwhile, 252,373 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including73,808 second doses.

No new health-care facility outbreaks were recorded as of Friday.

Potential for rapid growth

In her daily update on Thursday,Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said theseven-day rolling average of new cases is still slowly climbing, more than three months into tight restrictions on daily life meant to bring the second wave of the pandemic under control.

"This means potential for rapid growth if we are not careful," she said.

Despite those concerns, Henry also said that she's confident B.C.'s measures will slow the spread of the disease, especially now that the vaccination program is up and running again.

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On Friday morning,Health Canada approved use of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca. The approvalclearsthe way for millions of more inoculations in Canada.

Canada has so far secured access to 20 million doses of the vaccine.

"Unlike the vaccines that have been available to date, this new, two-dose viral vector vaccine has the benefit of being 'fridge stable,' making it much easier to transport and distribute around the province," said the statement from the province.

"This new vaccine will be integrated into our provincial immunization program as delivery and supply is confirmed in the coming weeks. The additional supply will allow us to look at accelerating immunization of priority populations and essential workers."

Henry said Thursday that therehave been 116 cases of COVID-19 variants of concern found in B.C., of which nine cases are active. She said 95 cases were of the variant originally detected in the U.K. and 21 of the variant first detected in South Africa.

READ MORE:

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• Just days after implementing new federal pandemic testing and quarantine rules,Vancouver International Airportis reporting passenger frustrationbut also compliance.
• An argument over physical distancingin a Nanaimomall parking lot quickly escalated into a stabbinglate Wednesday afternoon.
• Loblaw Companies Ltd. says it's ready to play a key role in Canada's vaccination effort, noting that the company's pharmacists are capable of administering a million shots a week.

What's happening elsewhere in Canada

As of 6:30p.m. PT Thursday,Canada had reported 858,217 cases of COVID-19, with 30,335 cases considered active.

A total of 21,865 people have died.