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B.C. went from 28 confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants on Friday to 40 today.

B.C. up to 40 COVID-19 variant cases

By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Published 3:58 PST, Mon February 8, 2021

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B.C. is now up to 40 cases of COVID-19 “variants of concern,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said today.

Twenty-five of the cases are the so-called United Kingdom variant, of which 15 are in the Fraser Health region, five in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, four in the Island Health region and one in the Interior Health region. Most are directly related to travel or were transmitted through contact with someone who travelled. One case has not yet had a connection to travel discovered.

The other 15 variant cases are of the South African variant. Thirteen of these cases are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and the other two are in the Fraser Health region. Henry said it's still concerning that public health teams are unable to learn where four of the people contracted the variant.

Only three of the 40 confirmed cases are currently active, she added. And of the cases where transmission has been traced, she said she is confident that the majority of those have not led to onward transmission. Most variant cases have been in younger people and have not led to serious illness or hospitalization.

“What we have seen in places around the world is that (variants) do change the game in some ways if they start to take off and become dominant in the community,” said Henry. “We need to get a handle on it, and this is one of the main reasons that we are extending the restrictions that we have here in B.C.”

Prior to easing restrictions, Henry said she is looking for fewer cases in communities and fewer outbreaks with unchecked transmission, as well as a better understanding of where variants of concern are located and how they’re getting into B.C. communities.

“We want to have that confidence that as we open up more, as we have more social connections, we do not have to step back again,” Henry said.

She also announced 1,236 new cases over the weekend—428 from Friday to Saturday, 465 from Saturday to Sunday and a further 343 in the last 24 hours. Five of the weekend’s cases are epidemiologically linked, bringing the province’s total to 70,952 cases.

Of the new cases, 266 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region (including Richmond), 601 in the Fraser Health region, 86 in the Island Health region, 152 in the Interior Health region and 131 in the Northern Health region.

There are 3,976 active cases and 234 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 69 of whom are in critical care. A further 6,900 people are under public health monitoring.

Sadly, 13 people passed away over the weekend due to the virus. There were two new healthcare outbreaks announced, both in acute care units. In total, 22 outbreaks remain in longterm care or assisted living facilities and nine in acute care facilities. These outbreaks are currently affecting 786 residents and 441 staff members.

To date, 154,496 vaccines have been administered, 12,111 of which are second doses. There have been 217 adverse events following immunization, including 18 instances of anaphylaxis.

For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and to find a testing centre near you: http://www.bccdc.ca/ or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.