Today, on Orange Shirt Day, and the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Ministry of Health and the Office of the Provincial Health Officer are honouring residential school survivors, their families and loved ones, and the children who did not come home. The recent findings, made throughout the province and across the country, have brought the truth of atrocities at former Indian Residential Schools more fully into the light.

The ministry and the provincial health officer and her staff are observing the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation Day this year, encouraging employees to learn more about the history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, and to have important conversations about how to bring action to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in B.C.

As of Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, 88.0% (4,078,469) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 81.0% (3,756,363) have received their second dose.

In addition, 88.5% (3,827,508) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 81.8% (3,539,236) have received their second dose.

B.C. is reporting 749 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 186,994 cases in the province.

Note: Due to a delayed data refresh, the numbers of total and new cases are provisional and will be verified when confirmed.

Currently, 145 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care. Given the holiday, the ministry is unable to provide hospitalization numbers, active cases or recovered cases. However, these numbers will be available in tomorrow’s information bulletin.

Note: The number of yesterday’s critical care COVID-19 confirmed cases has been changed to 142 from 146 after a correction from Interior Health.

The new/active cases include:

• 267 new cases in Fraser Health
• 113 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
• 157 new cases in Interior Health
• 148 new cases in Northern Health
• 64 new cases in Island Health
• No new cases of people who reside outside of Canada

In the last 24 hours, nine new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,962.

The new deaths include:

• Fraser Health: three
• Island Health: two
• Northern Health: one
• Vancouver Coastal Health: one
• Interior Health: two

There are no new outbreaks, for a total of 22 active outbreaks, including:

• long-term care:
  • Willingdon Care Centre, Westminster House, Menno Terrace East, The Residence in Mission, Magnolia Gardens (Fraser Health);
  • Arbutus Care Centre, Louis Brier Home and Hospital (Vancouver Coastal Health);
  • Cottonwoods Care Centre, Kamloops Seniors Village, The Hamlets at Westsyde, Joseph Creek Care Village, Overlander, Village by the Station (Interior Health);
  • Wrinch Memorial Hospital, Jubilee Lodge (Northern Health); and
  • Victoria Chinatown Care Centre (Island Health).
• acute care:
  • University Hospital of Northern BC (Northern Health); and
  • Royal Inland Hospital (Interior Health).
• assisted or independent living:
• Sunset Manor, Hallmark on the Lake (Fraser Health);
• Hardy View Lodge (Interior Health), and
• Cooper Place (Vancouver Coastal Health).

When available, information on school outbreaks will be posted online:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures

From Sept. 22-28, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 71.2% of cases.
From Sept. 15-28, they accounted for 80.6% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (Sept. 22-28) – Total 5,251
Not vaccinated: 3,367 (64.1%)
Partially vaccinated: 373 (7.1%)
Fully vaccinated: 1,511 (28.8%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Sept. 15-28) – Total 444
Not vaccinated: 317 (71.4%)
Partially vaccinated: 41 (9.2%)
Fully vaccinated: 86 (19.4%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 22-28)
Not vaccinated: 303.4
Partially vaccinated: 101.6
Fully vaccinated: 37.4

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 15-28)
Not vaccinated: 46.5
Partially vaccinated: 17.1
Fully vaccinated: 2.0

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 7,846,714 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Learn More:

For the Sept. 28, 2021, modelling presentation, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/9-28_PHO_modelling.pdf

To learn about how B.C. counts its daily COVID-19 cases in hospitals, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0058-001844

To learn about the BC Vaccine Card and how to access yours, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard.html

For health measures in the Northern Health region, visit: https://stories.northernhealth.ca/news/new-health-measures-introduced-northern-health-region

For the Aug. 31, 2021, modelling presentation, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/8-31_PHO_modelling.pdf

For the provincial health officer’s order on masks in public indoor settings, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25217

For the Aug. 12, 2021, announcement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for long-term care workers, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25143

For health measures in the Central Okanagan, visit: https://www.interiorhealth.ca/AboutUs/MediaCentre/NewsReleases/Documents/IB_COVID_Outbreak_6%20August.pdf

For information on breakthrough cases, see the BC Centre for Disease Control's (BCCDC) weekly data summary: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#summary

Detailed data is posted daily on the BCCDC dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
Or: www.bccdc.ca

To register to be immunized or to learn about getting your second dose, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register or https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/dose-2

To learn about BC’s Restart plan, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restart

For the provincial health officer’s orders and guidance, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

For guidance on restrictions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

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

For COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information, visit:

• BCCDC: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures
• Fraser Health: fraserhealth.ca/covid19exposure
• Interior Health: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/
• Island Health: https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/data-outbreaks-facilities
• Northern Health: https://www.northernhealth.ca/health-topics/outbreaks-and-exposures
• Vancouver Coastal Health: http://www.vch.ca/covid-19/public-exposures