COVID-19 update for Feb. 19: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

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Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for Feb. 19, 2021.

We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in B.C. right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.

Check back here for more updates throughout the day. You can also get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 p.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.

B.C.’S COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS

As of the latest figures given on Feb. 18
• Total number of confirmed cases: 75,327 (4,348 active)
• New cases since Feb. 17: 617
• Total deaths: 1,321 (4 new)
• Hospitalized cases: 224
• Intensive care: 60
• Total vaccinations: 180,691 first doses including 29,952 second doses.
• Cases under public health monitoring: 7,440
• Recovered: 69,602
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 20

IN-DEPTH:COVID-19: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus

B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

• COVID-19: Here’s everything you need to know about the novel coronavirus

• COVID-19 FAQ: What you need to know about the vaccine rollout in B.C.

• COVID-19: Have you been exposed? Here are all B.C. public health alerts

• COVID-19 at B.C. schools: Here are the school district exposure alerts

• COVID-19: Avoid these hand sanitizers that are recalled in Canada

• COVID-19: Here’s where to get tested in Metro Vancouver

• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

LATEST NEWS ON COVID-19 IN B.C.

3 p.m. – Health officials are set to share latest figures on COVID-19 in B.C.

Health officials are expected to update the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries across the province.

You can watch the update live here:

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5 a.m. – Poll suggests B.C. residents less likely to follow all restrictions than other provinces 

B.C. residents are less likely to follow COVID-19 public health orders than their provincial counterparts, according to a new poll Friday.

The Insights West survey found only 34 per cent of B.C. residents claim they are following all of the rules all of the time. The pollsters say that is 14 points to 22 points lower than in other regions.

Instead, more British Columbians (48 per cent compared to between 24 per cent and 36 per cent in other regions) are following the restrictions only “nearly all the time.”

Overall, only about a half (48 per cent) of Canadians polled claim to be following all of the rules, and the remainder are breaking the rules either all or some of the time.

The survey found 36 per cent of respondents follow nearly all of the rules nearly all of the time, while only eight per cent are following them most of the time, and seven per cent follow them rarely or never.

Insights West asked respondents about their plans for spring break in March. What they found was that a concerning number of Canadians plan on breaking the rules set out by their provincial governments.

12 a.m. – B.C. records 617 new cases, four deaths

Health officials said Thursday that another 617 people in British Columbia have tested positive for COVID-19 in British Columbia and another four people have died from the disease.

It’s the province’s highest daily case count since Jan. 7, when 761 people tested positive, and the first time B.C.’s daily case tally has exceeded 500 since Jan. 29.

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The majority of new cases occurred in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions, which reported 342 and 146 positive tests, respectively.

B.C. health officials also declared new outbreaks at two health-care facilities — at Mission Memorial Hospital and Fleetwood Villa, a retirement facility in Surrey where three residents have tested positive.

B.C. VACCINE TRACKER

LOCAL RESOURCES for COVID-19 information

Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.

• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

• Vancouver Coastal Health – Information on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

• HealthLink B.C. – Coronavirus (COVID-19) information page

• B.C. Centre for Disease Control – Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

• Government of Canada – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update

• World Health Organization – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak

– With files from The Canadian Press