COVID-19 update for Feb. 5-6: 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. 5-6, 2022.

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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. 4:

• Total number of confirmed cases: 330,942 (25,479 active)
• New cases: 1,799
• Total deaths: 2,675 (19 new deaths)
• Hospitalized cases: 946
• Intensive care: 139
• Total vaccinations: 4,486,817 received first dose (90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of eligible pop. 5+); 4,199,246 second doses (84.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}); 2,227,223 third doses (51.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of adults)
• Recovered from acute infection: 301,573
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 58

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IN-DEPTH:   Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021 | in 2020

B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

• COVID-19: B.C.’s vaccine passport is here and this is how it works

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

• 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.

Orca Realty says “rogue individual” drove company van in anti-vax rally

A Vancouver real estate company has apologized after one of its vehicles was used in the anti-vax rally held in the city over the weekend — blaming a “rogue” individual.

According to a statement posted on Sunday on the Orca Realty website, “Orca Realty did not participate in this convoy protest today. Orca Realty would never be part of this ever. We are reaching out to find out exactly who drove a vehicle with our name on it in this rally. We apologize profusely for this horrible incident. This was a rogue individual and in no way reflects the beliefs of Orca Realty or Orca Realty ownership.”

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The black Mercedes van with Orca Realty markings was photographed among the rally of vehicles that travelled from Langley to downtown Vancouver on Saturday.

Hundreds converge on Vancouver to oppose health mandates

Protesters disrupted the route of a truck convoy and other vehicles that travelled from Langley to downtown Vancouver on Saturday in opposition to COVID-19 health mandates and to show support for the “Freedom Convoy” that converged in Ottawa last weekend.

At Kingsway and Broadway streets, protesters stood and biked in front of the convoy, blocking traffic until police temporarily rerouted several large trucks, to the cheers of protesters.

“I don’t necessarily love the idea of blocking roads, because it does make things worse for any type of emergency service and ruins everyone’s day,” said a protester named Madeline, who called the convoy of trucks an act of racism, “because it’s throwing that in the face and billions of people in the world that don’t have access to that health care.”

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“But it was really good to see the trucks turn around,” she added.

Read the full story here .

— Nathan Griffiths, Tiffany Crawford

Ottawa protesters outnumber police and are in control: Mayor

Protesters camped out in the Canadian capital outnumber the police and control the situation, the Ottawa’s mayor said on Sunday, as a demonstration against vaccine mandates clogged parts of the city for a 10th day.

The “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

Protesters have paralyzed downtown Ottawa for the past nine days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada’s government.

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“The situation at this point is completely out of control because the individuals with the protest are calling the shots,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said on a local radio station. “They have far more people than we have police officers.”

Read the full story here .

— Reuters

Vancouver Giants cancel home game over COVID concerns

The Vancouver Giants‘ game against the Seattle Thunderbirds scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre has been put off due to COVID-19 issues with the Giants.

In a statement, the Western Hockey League said it is “working in consultation with the WHL chief medical officer regarding the matter concerning the Vancouver Giants. Information on the rescheduling of Sunday’s game between the Thunderbirds and Giants will be provided at a later date.”

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The Giants are slated to visit the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday.

Read the full story here .

— Steve Ewen

U.S. surpasses 900,000 COVID deaths

The coronavirus pandemic reached a grim new milestone in the United States on Friday with the nation’s cumulative death toll from COVID-19 surpassing 900,000, even as the daily number of lives lost has begun to level off, according to data collected by Reuters.

The latest tally marks an rise of more than 100,000 U.S. COVID-19 fatalities since Dec. 12, coinciding with a surge of infections and hospitalizations driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus.

Preliminary evidence has shown that Omicron, while far more infectious, generally causes less severe illness than earlier iterations of the virus, such as Delta. But the sheer volume of Omicron cases fuelled a surge in hospitalizations that has strained many U.S. health care systems to their limits in recent weeks.

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Experts have said the bulk of Omicron patients requiring hospitalization were unvaccinated individuals and people with other underlying chronic health conditions.

Read the full story here .

— Reuters

Preparing for whatever post-pandemic’s ‘business as usual’ looks like

The COVID pandemic has permanently changed things for theatre companies, tourism operators and event organizers, even though the rest of society wants to get back to normal.

“(The pandemic) teaches me … that our business model has to be fluid and that you can’t get frustrated with endless planning cycles,” said Peter Cathie White, executive director of the Arts Club Theatre.

So, while Cathie White is confident that patrons will get the same old in-theatre experience when the Arts Club raises the curtain on its production of Kim’s Convenience at the Stanley Industrial Stage on Feb. 24 (with everyone around them wearing masks), behind the scenes, things work a little differently.

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There are plans to use understudies in case of illness, and preparations to move shows if another COVID variant shows up, as well as to “COVID-proof ourselves to the best of our ability,” Cathie White said.

The pandemic hasn’t finished with B.C. The province reported 1,799 new COVID cases Friday with 946 British Columbians still in hospital, 139 of whom are in intensive care, and 19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Read full story here .

— Derrick Penner

GoFundMe shuts down truck convoy fundraiser

GoFundMe said it has removed the ‘Freedom Convoy 2022’ fundraiser from its website, citing reports of violence and harassment.

In a statement Friday, the online fundraising platform said it believed the truck convoy, which made its way from B.C. and other parts of Canada to Ottawa last weekend and started with the intention of protesting vaccine mandates, was originally intended to be peaceful.

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“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” it said.

The fundraiser has raised more than $10 million for the truckers and demonstrators protesting COVID-19 mandates in Ottawa.

946 hospitalizations, 19 deaths

The COVID-19 pandemic’s death toll continues to mount as B.C. records one of its highest single-day totals.

On Friday, 19 COVID-related deaths were reported across the province, the second-highest daily tally this year, topped only by Jan. 26’s 21 deaths.

Five of the deaths occurred in Fraser Health, six in Vancouver Coastal, six in Island Health, and two in Northern Health.

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There are 946 people who tested positive for COVID who are currently in hospital, 39 less than yesterday’s 985. Hospitalization figures include both those who were admitted to hospital with severe COVID-19 symptoms and those who happened to test positive while admitted to hospital for other reasons.

DEATHS BY HEALTH AUTHORITY

B.C. VACCINE TRACKER

WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS CANADA

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