Nearly 65% of B.C. adults have had a COVID-19 shot as cases continue their downward trend

B.C. health officials said Tuesday that close to 65 per cent of adults in the province have received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, as they announced the lowest one-day total of new cases in months.

In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dixsaid 289 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed the smallest number since Feb. 1. One more person has died from the virus.

As of Tuesday, 2,927,487 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 148,580second doses.

"This means 64.6% of all adults have received their first dose, or 59.8% of those 12 and older," Henry and Dix said.

There are now 3,782active cases of COVID-19 in B.C.

A total of 301 people are in hospital, including 93in intensive care.

Hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, aredown 16 per centfrom last Tuesday, when 360 people were in hospital. The number of patients in intensive care is down 27 per cent in the last week, from 127on May 18.

The provincialdeath toll from the disease is now 1,680 out of 142,636 confirmed cases to date.

The latest numbers come just hours after provincial officials released their plans for slowly relaxing restrictions on daily life, travel and business. Henry and Dix described the plan as "a careful and measured approach."

The four-step reopening plan could see people socializing normally again as early as September if case counts and hospitalizations continue to decline.

"Our path forward is a collective effort and we all have a role to play slowing community transmission by each of us getting our first and second doses of vaccine and continuing with our safety layers, in combination with public health teams actively contact tracing and containing new clusters and outbreaks," Henry and Dix said.

"As cases continue to decline and immunizations steadily rise, we are moving forward with purpose,monitoring our progress to ensure we remain on track."

As of Tuesday, residents can resume dining indoors, hitting the gym for low-intensity workouts, playing outdoor sports and gathering with small groups indoors.