74% of eligible British Columbians have had 2nd vaccine dose, as province records 689 new cases of COVID-19

B.C. health officials announced 689 new cases of COVID-19 Thurday, the second highest number ofnewcasesin a 24-hour period since May 7. Two more people have died.

In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dixsaid there are currently 5,982active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.

A total of 121people are in hospital, the highest number of new hospitalizations since June 19. Of those patients,56 are inintensive care, up from 33 a week ago.

Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, areup49per cent from last Thursday, when 81 people were in hospital with the disease.

The provincialdeath toll from the disease is now 1,784 lives lost. There have been158,256confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C.to date.

The regional breakdown of new cases is as follows:

• 278new cases in Interior Health, which has 3,368total active cases.
• 219 new cases in Fraser Health, which has 1,112 total active cases.
• 123 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, which has 908total active cases.
• 42 new cases in Island Health, which has 346 total active cases.
• 27 new cases in Northern Health, which has 239 total active cases.
• There are no new cases among people who reside outside of Canada, a group which has nine total active cases.

There are 11 active outbreaks in assisted living and long-term care. Of those, eight are in Interior Health and three arein Fraser Health. The outbreak at theDiscovery Harbour long-term care facility in theIsland Health region has been declared over.

As of Thursday, 82.9per cent of those 12 and older in B.C. hadreceived their first dose of aCOVID-19 vaccineand 74per cent asecond dose.

So far, 7,280,835 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 3,431,103second doses.

New outbreak at Site C project

A newoutbreak has been declared at B.C. Hydro's Site C dam project after 41 people tested positive for the virus. There are currently 32 active cases at the site, locatednear Fort St. John, and more than 110 close contacts of those cases are in self-isolation.

Officials say the confirmed cases are primarily among unvaccinated employees.

It's the second outbreak at the site this year, the first of which was declared on April 28. Over the course of the two-month outbreak, 56 people were infected.

Polling officers not required to be vaccinated

Elections Canada is assuring Canadiansthat voting in thefederal election next month will be safe,even though the agency willnot require polling officers tobe vaccinated againstCOVID-19.

Chief Electoral OfficerStephane Perrault said polls are a controlled environment, where safety measures can be applied, and thatpolling stations will follow the public health measures specific to each province.

If the situation changes, Perrault said Elections Canadawill make adjustments.

British Columbians aged 12 and over who have not yet been immunized can register in three ways:

• Online through theGet Vaccinated portal.
• By calling 1-833-838-2323. Translators are available in 140 languages.
• In person at anyService B.C. location.

People can also be immunized atwalk-in clinics throughout the province.