B.C. reports 8 COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations fall below 500

Another eight deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in British Columbia, the government announced Friday as the number of test-positive patients in hospital dropped below 500.

Another eight deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in British Columbia, the government announced Friday as the number of test-positive patients in hospital dropped below 500.

The Ministry of Health said there are 484 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the province, which includes incidental patients who were admitted for reasons unrelated to the disease but tested positive through routine screening.

The number of patients in intensive care also fell to 69, down from 79 on Thursday.

But coronavirus-related deaths haven't been decreasing as steadily as hospitalizations. The ministry's update put the province's seven-day average for COVID-19 deaths, which has fluctuated up and down over the last several weeks, at 7.57 per day.

Island Health reported four of the deaths and Fraser Health reported two, while Vancouver Coastal Health and Interior Health reported one each.

There have been 2,903 deaths attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. The Ministry of Health said one was removed from the total due to a "data correction."

The government does not disclose the vaccination status of the deceased in daily COVID-19 updates, but data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows the unvaccinated are dying at a higher rate than those with vaccine protection.