COVID-19 death toll on Vancouver Island hits 200

Three more people in the Vancouver Island region have died of COVID-19, health officials reported Friday, among 17 deaths recorded over 24 hours in British Columbia.

Among the new deaths announced by the Health Ministry were nine fatalities in the Fraser Health region, two in Vancouver Coastal Health, and three in Interior Health.

Vancouver Island's COVID-19 death toll now sits at 200, while 2,747 people have died of the disease across B.C. since the pandemic began.

There are 88 people currently in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

That total is up slightly from the 87 reported in hospital Thursday but down from 121 patients one week ago, on Feb. 4.

Fifteen patients are in critical care on Vancouver Island, up from 14 reported Thursday and 10 confirmed on Feb. 4.

Another 190 new cases of COVID-19 were identified in the Vancouver Island region Friday.

The new cases were among 1,245 cases confirmed across the province over the past 24 hours, for a total of 338,792 cases in B.C. since the pandemic began.

Approximately 90.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged five an older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 85 per cent had received two doses.