Decline in COVID hospitalizations in B.C. glacially slow

The number of people in hospital with a positive COVID test dropped by 25 today to 762 while the number in intensive care dropped by three to 121.

About half the of people in hospital with a COVID diagnosis were not in there because of COVID but were tested after going to hospital for things like surgery, delivering a baby or being admitted to a mental health unit.

There were 750 new COVID cases reported in B.C. in the past 24 hours, according to a Ministry of Health news release issued today, Feb. 16.

READ MORE: Indoor dancing and socializing set to return in B.C. as COVID restrictions eased: health officials

Of the new cases, 287 were in the Interior Health region, 167 in Fraser Health, 93 in Vancouver Coastal, 105 on Vancouver Island and 108 in the Northern Health region.

The real number of cases is estimated to be three to four times higher because many people infected with COVID are not getting tested or take rapid tests that are not recorded in these figures.

There were 11 more deaths, including one in Interior Health, bringing the pandemic total to 2,777.

The vaccination rate for people over the age of 12 stayed at 93.1% with at least one dose as did the 90.5% with at least two doses. It climbed to 55.7% for those with three doses.

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