(Files by Dione Wearmouth – My Prince George Now)

BC’s COVID-19 case count continues to skyrocket as the province saw 1,005 new cases.

105 of the new cases were in Interior Health, and 51 were in Northern Health.

Northern Health now has 307 active cases, while 24 people are in hospital, 13 of whom are in ICU.

Interior Health has 904 active cases, 23 people are in hospital, 10 of whom are in ICU.

There are now 10,081 active cases across BC while 425 people are in hospital, 127 of whom are in ICU.

There are now 5,739 cases of COVID-19 that are Variants of Concern (VOC), 212 of which are currently active and the remaining people have recovered.

Six more people have died, boosting the provincial death toll to 1,530.

The province’s vaccine rollout plan continues to make moves, as now 1,282,091 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, 87,970 of which were second doses.

Premier John Horgan joined the list of vaccinated residents after he received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine today (Friday) at a pharmacy in Victoria.

With a sunny weekend expected for some areas of the province this weekend, Dr.Bonnie Henry reminds people to continue to adhere to protocols.

“Even if we are outside, we need to stay small and continue to use our layers of protection,” she said, “This means keeping a safe distance and wearing masks, especially if someone is higher risk for serious illness.”

Breakdown by region:

North + 51 (6,738)

Interior + 110  (9,950)

Vancouver Coastal + 259  (29,163)

Fraser + 536 (66,814)

Island +49  (4,233)