COVID-19: B.C. death toll reaches 901 in 2020, with more than half of those in December

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B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll hit 901 on the last day of 2020, as provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported 17,510 vaccines had been administered around the province.

Of those deaths, 460 were recorded in December (with 100 since Christmas Eve.) B.C.’s worst outbreak – at Little Mountain Place in East Vancouver – has now claimed at least 31 lives. The next worse outbreak was at the Langley Lodge where 26 people died.

Henry said there were 683 new cases of the disease reported between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday, and eight deaths (seven in the Fraser Health region and one in Northern Health.”

Giving her last COVID-19 update of the year, Henry said there were 7,803 active cases of the disease in B.C., of which 374 were being treated in hospital including 76 in intensive care.

Henry said there were three new outbreaks in health-care facilities – with a total of 52 active outbreaks in long-term care facilities and nine in hospitals. A total 733 staff in health-care facilities had contracted the disease this year, and 1,412 residents or patients.