On Jan. 7, B.C. reported 761 new cases of COVID-19 from 8,960 tests completed.  

Active cases are now at 6,349, with 47,374 recoveries. Right now, 372 people are hospitalized, with 74 of these in intensive care. 

Of the new cases, 64 were in the Northern Health region, from 369. The area now has 438 active cases, 1,859 total recoveries and 32 deaths since the start of the pandemic.  

B.C. has now vaccinated 41,064 people. The province continues to distribute the vaccine as able.  

Eight new COVID-19 related deaths were reported, for a total of 970 deaths in British Columbia. 

On Jan. 7, B.C. started using a new system for daily reporting of new cases.  

In their update, Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, explain that the “new system will automatically report all laboratory confirmed cases from the previous day, plus cases followed up by the health authorities, to provide more timely reporting of data. The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) dashboard and data tables will now show the lab result date instead of the reported date.” 

With the changes, there will be an increase in case number for a few days as the previous lag from positive lab result to reported case is eliminated. There will also still be fluctuations in daily numbers as cases are verified.  

B.C. is starting to provide updates on ongoing outbreaks in long-term care, assisted living and independent living facilities every Thursday, available online.  

The province also released new guidance to clarify essential and social visitation, to help residents and family/friends. It is posted online.  

“Brighter days are without a doubt ahead, when thousands more will be immunized from COVID-19 and the spread of the virus has slowed. Let’s work together now knowing what we do will make a difference for all of us tomorrow.” 

Read the full update HERE.