COVID-19 update for June 7: 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 June 7, 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 June 4:

• Total number of confirmed cases: 145,049 (2,453 active cases)
• New cases since June 2: 183
• Total deaths: 1,710 (one new death)
• Hospitalized cases: 224
• Intensive care: 59
• Total vaccinations: 3,488,884 doses administered; 256,725 second doses
• Recovered from acute infection: 140,835
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 7

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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: Here’s how to get your vaccination shot in B.C.

• COVID-19: Look up your neighbourhood in our interactive map of case and vaccination rates in B.C.

• COVID-19: Afraid of needles? Here’s how to overcome your fear and get vaccinated

• COVID-19: Five things to know about the P1 variant spreading in B.C.

• COVID-19: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021

• 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.

9:45 a.m. – Ontario and Alberta to ease restrictions this week

Ontario’s economic reopening plan will begin Friday, a few days earlier than originally scheduled.

Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed, as will limited outdoor dining, outdoor fitness classes, outdoor religious services and in-store retail shopping with capacity limits.

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The government says health indicators have improved enough to advance its reopening plan by a few days.

It had originally planned to start loosening health restrictions next week.

Alberta, meanwhile, plans to loosen its COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday, so long as hospitalizations remain below 500 and declining. The step would see fewer restrictions for most industries, outdoor gatherings, outdoor sports, seated public gatherings and weddings.

In British Columbia, Step 2 of the province’s reopening plan is expected to be implemented on June 15, as long as cases and hospitalization numbers continue to decline. The plan allows for gatherings of up to 50 people, playdates, a lifting of provincial travel restrictions, liquor served until midnight, and a return of team sports for adults and youth.

6:40 a.m. – Moderna seeks EU, Canada approval for COVID-19 vaccine’s use in teens

Moderna is applying to Health Canada today for its COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in teenagers.

The Massachusetts-based company says a trial of 2,500 youth aged 12 to 17 in the United States indicated the vaccine was 93 per cent to 100 per cent effective against COVID-19.

Moderna is the second vaccine maker to apply for approval for youth; the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for kids as young as 16 in December and for youth 12 to 15 years old in May.

Both companies continue to test their vaccines on children as young as six months with hopes to apply for authorization by the fall.

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– The Canadian Press

6:40 a.m. – Canada to receive 2.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week

Canada is scheduled to receive 2.4 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week as more Canadians get their first and second jabs.

Those shots are the only expected shipments in what should be a comparatively quiet week of vaccine deliveries.

Moderna shipped 500,000 doses last week, with another 1.5 million shots due to arrive next week.

Ottawa is also expecting another one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of June, though a detailed delivery schedule has not been confirmed.

The fate of more than 300,000 shots from Johnson and Johnson that were first delivered in April remains unclear as Health Canada continues reviewing their safety following concerns about possible tainting at a Baltimore production facility.

The federal government says more than 60 per cent of Canadians have received at least one dose, and the number fully immunized with two shots is rising.

– The Canadian Press

6 a.m. – Here’s what you need to know about getting your second dose in B.C.

B.C.’s vaccination program enters a new phase Monday, as the province opens appointments for the second dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

People who received AstraZeneca for their first shot will have to decide between a second dose of AstraZeneca and getting Pfizer or Moderna instead. Those who want Pfizer or Moderna will need to register with the provincial registration system then wait for a booking invitation.

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According to the Ministry of Health, people who received Pfizer for their first shot will receive Pfizer again. Those who received Moderna for their first shot will get either Pfizer or Moderna. Both the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines are effectively interchangeable and are safe to mix.

Read more HERE.

6 a.m. – Cases declining across Canada

Signs of summer’s pending arrival were greeted with other reasons for hope across much of Canada over the weekend as several provinces reported their lowest number of new COVID-19 infections in months and tens of thousands more Canadians were vaccinated.

The good news started with Quebec. Once the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the province on Sunday reported only 179 new infections and no new deaths, a first for both measurements since September.

Ontario, meanwhile, logged 663 new cases on Sunday, the lowest figure seen since Oct. 18. Atlantic Canada was also reporting relatively low numbers, with 12 new cases in Nova Scotia today and fewer than 10 in the rest of the region.

Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam in a statement called on Canadians to continue to guard against COVID-19 while also acknowledging the decline in new cases following a deadly third wave of infections through much of the spring.

“As immunity is still building up across the population, public health measures and individual precautions are crucial for COVID-19 control,” she said. “Thanks to measures in place in heavily affected areas, the strong and steady declines in disease trends continues.”

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Some parts of the country nonetheless continued to struggle with high levels of infection, including Manitoba, where nearly 500 cases were reported on Saturday and Sunday combined.

The decline in new cases over the past week coincided with a drop in the number of Canadians being treated in hospital for COVID-19, Tam said, with fewer in intensive-care units and fewer deaths as well.

– The Canadian Press

6 a.m. – J&J vaccine drive stalls out in U.S. after safety pause

Safety concerns about Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine along with overall flagging demand for vaccinations have slowed its U.S. rollout to a crawl, leaving close to half of the 21 million doses produced for the United States sitting unused.

J&J’s vaccine was supposed to be an important tool for reaching rural areas and vaccine hesitant Americans because it requires only one shot and has less stringent storage requirements than the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc.

– Reuters

SUNDAY

12 p.m. – Canadian government grants travel exemption for Stanley Cup playoffs

The Canadian government approved a travel exemption for the National Hockey League on Sunday that will allow teams to cross the Canada-U.S. border for the Stanley Cup playoffs without the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Canada’s Immigration Ministry issued a statement saying the “national interest” exemption was granted after a review by public health officials.

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Under the conditions laid out in the exemption, teams can only travel in and out of the country on private planes.

In Canada players will live in a modified bubble that will be limited to the team hotel and arena, and there will be no contact with the public.

Players will be tested daily as well as before they board planes and when they land.

The exemption will allow the winner of the NHL’s all-Canadian North division between the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets to play in the U.S. and host U.S. based opponents for the final two rounds.

The Canadiens currently lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.

– Reuters

8:45 a.m. – Three B.C. flights flagged for COVID-19 exposure

Three more B.C. flights have been added to the B.C. Centre of Disease COVID-19 exposure list.

The BCCDC says one or more infected people were aboard Westjet flight 3139 from Vancouver to Calgary on June 2, while an exposure was also reported on a Harbour Air floatplane (flight 1705) from Tofino to Vancouver on June 2, and on a returning Harbour Air (flight 1710) from Tofino to Vancouver on June 3.

Those who were on board a domestic flight with a confirmed case are not required to self-isolate but must monitor closely for possible symptoms.

For row information, visit the BCCDC’s full listing of all exposure flights here.

B.C. MAP OF WEEKLY COVID CASE COUNTS, VACCINATION RATES

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