Victoria, BC (WNews Vancouver) – B.C. has reported 1,785 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 243,731 cases in the province in the past 24 hours.
The majority of the new cases — 791 — are in the Fraser Health region. Four hundred are in the Vancouver Coastal Health area, 269 are in Interior Health, 42 are in the Northern Health region and 283 are in Island Health.
The province will return to regular reporting of COVID-19 cases, vaccinations, hospitalizations and deaths, and cases and hospitalizations by vaccination status on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
The province said the numbers are preliminary.
British Columbia broke its single-day case records five times in the past week, with a surge in the highly infectious Omicron variant. The seven-day rolling average is also at its highest point since the pandemic began, with the average number of cases per day now at 2,005.
Cold temperatures have impacted services at a handful of COVID-19 testing and immunization sites in Metro Vancouver.
Testing sites were closed in Coastal Healths as the cold weather affected the sites.
“Due to hazardous weather conditions, VCH has temporarily suspended operations at St. Vincent and YVR testing sites and is redirecting people to alternate testing locations.”
At this time, there is a significant demand for COVID-19 testing services across BC. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our community and wanted to provide a quick update on COVID-19 testing options across the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
Thread below: pic.twitter.com/lAvDRqY5Am
— Vancouver Coastal Health (@VCHhealthcare) December 28, 2021
Coastal Health apologizes for the inconvenience in a statement on twitter.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Please know that VCH is monitoring weather conditions closely and will re-open these sites as soon as possible.” – Vancouver Coastal Health vis Twitter
On Monday, Fraser Health reduced the hours at sites at the Burnaby and Coquitlam COVID-19 Testing and Immunization Centres and suspended services at the Langley COVID-19 Testing and Immunization Centre.
Burnaby, Coquitlam, Langley (KPU) and Surrey 66 COVID-19 Testing and Immunization Centres have reduced services today due to hazardous weather conditions.
Immunization appointments: please attend the indoor clinics noted below or rebook your appointment. pic.twitter.com/j3cx0yDOSg
— Fraser Health (@Fraserhealth) December 29, 2021
The new cases include:
- 791 new cases in Fraser Health
- 400 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
- 269 new cases in Interior Health
- 42 new cases in Northern Health
- 283 new cases in Island Health
Note: Case counts provided on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, are preliminary.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix are set to hold a pandemic briefing on Wednesday at 3 pm PST
The Ministry of Health will return to regular reporting of COVID-19 cases, vaccinations, hospitalizations and deaths, and cases and hospitalizations by vaccination status on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021.