B.C. records 406 new cases of COVID-19 and 5 more deaths

British Columbiaannounced 406 new cases of COVID-19 and fivemore deaths on Tuesday.

In a written statement, the provincial government said there are currently 4,694active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.

A total of 445people are in hospital, with 137in intensive care.

The provincialdeath toll from COVID-19is now 2,186 lives lost out of206,690 confirmed cases to date.

There are a total of 41active outbreaks in assisted living and long-term care, Including two newoutbreaks at Royal Inland Hospital,and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

Ongoing outbreaks at acute care facilities include Mission Memorial Hospital, Chilliwack General Hospital, Queen's Park Care Centre, Royal Inland Hospital, University Hospital of Northern B.C., GR Baker Memorial Hospital, Bulkley Valley District Hospital,andNanaimo Regional General Hospital.

As of Tuesday, 90per cent of those 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of aCOVID-19 vaccineand 85.4 per cent asecond dose.

From Oct. 25 to 31, people who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 64.4 per cent of cases and from Oct. 18 to 31,they accounted for 72.4 per cent of hospitalizations, according to the province.

So far, 8.2 milliondoses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in B.C., including 3.9 million second doses.

B.C. public service mandate

B.C. health officials announced Monday that any public service employee who has not received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 22 will be placed on unpaid leave for three months.

Workers who still aren't vaccinated after that period "may be terminated,"Health Minister Adrian Dix said during a news conference.

Roughly 30,000 people work in public service in B.C. The provinceannounced last month that vaccines for those workers would be mandatory.

'Not the right profession'

In the health-care sector, more than 3,300 workers are now on unpaid leave because they were not immunized by the Oct. 26deadline for mandatory vaccination.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said any loss of staff is another challenge for an exhaustedhealth-care system.

But she wasn't readily inviting backstaff who still have not beenimmunized.

"If people are in our health-care system and not recognizing the importance of vaccination, then this is probably not the right profession for them, to be frank," she said during anews conference Monday.

Anyone who has not yet been vaccinated is encouraged to do so immediately.You can book an appointment online orby phone at a pharmacy inyour community.

The week-over-week hospitalization comparisons are temporarily suspended after the Northern Health Authority introduced a one-time, retroactive accounting change to its hospitalization numbers Tuesday, Oct. 26. We will reintroduce them Wednesday, Nov. 3.