B.C. breaks COVID-19 case record for 2nd day in a row

The B.C. government announced more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, breaking the province's all-time record for the second day in a row.

The B.C. government announced more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, breaking the province's all-time record for the second day in a row.

The update from the Ministry of Health announced a "provisional" total of 1,474 new infections, which pushed B.C.'s seven-day average for infections up to 982, the highest it's been since April. The average has nearly tripled in less than two weeks as the highly transmissible Omicron variant quickly overtook Delta as the dominant strain in the province.

Later in the afternoon, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported the number of newly confirmed infections as 1,528.

Another six people have also died in connection with COVID-19.

Hospitalizations have remained relatively stable, though health officials have noted they are a lagging indicator, meaning trends tend to follow cases after a period of delay. The number of infectious COVID-19 patients in hospital dipped to 187 on Wednesday, with 71 of them in intensive care.

In Quebec, which is believed to be seven to 10 days ahead of B.C. in terms of Omicron's spread, hospitalization have surged by 75 per cent over the last two weeks.

The Ministry of Health did not provide an update on B.C.'s confirmed Omicron cases, but said a new total will be shared Thursday. There were 756 Omicron infections as of Tuesday, more than double the 302 announced on Friday.