COVID-19 update: B.C. adds 584 cases, 9 deaths as hospitalizations continue to rise

B.C. health officials announced 584 new cases of COVID-19 and nine related deaths in their final pandemic update of the week Friday.

B.C. health officials announced 584 new cases of COVID-19 and nine related deaths in their final pandemic update of the week Friday.

The number of people hospitalized with the disease ticked up again, to 436, and there are 156 infectious COVID-19 patients in intensive care.

A total of 4,982 cases of the coronavirus are considered active in B.C. There have been 204,914 infections and 2,156 deaths in the province since the pandemic began.

Friday's numbers bring the seven day rolling averages for daily cases and deaths to 575 and 6.71, respectively.

Ongoing high levels of COVID-19 transmission prompted provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry to extend the province's indoor mask mandate on Friday. 

Henry's order requiring everyone ages five and older to wear face masks in indoor public spaces had originally been scheduled to end on Oct. 31. 

There have been no new outbreaks of COVID-19 in health-care facilities in the province, but the Ministry of Health announced a new outbreak at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Saanich.