COVID-19 update: Jump in ICU admissions as B.C. extends restrictions

British Columbia's surge in coronavirus-positive patients in hospital continued on Tuesday, as officials confirmed most of the province's COVID-19 restrictions are being extended into next month.

British Columbia's surge in coronavirus-positive patients in hospital continued on Tuesday, as officials confirmed most of the province's COVID-19 restrictions are being extended into next month.

The Ministry of Health said there are now 854 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across B.C., up from 819 on Monday. That total includes 112 patients battling the virus in intensive care, a jump of 13 per cent from the 99 announced the day before.

Most of the province's COVID-19 critical care patients are age 60 or older, according to a breakdown provided by Health Minister Adrian Dix on Twitter. All 12 of those who are at least 80 years old are fully vaccinated, highlighting the ongoing risks older people face from the virus.

"We need to really pay attention," provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a news conference earlier in the day. "With the high rates of transmission, there are still lots of people who do get seriously ill."

Officials noted that people's immune systems get less responsive with age, and many older residents have underlying conditions that leave them at higher risk.

The unvaccinated are also more vulnerable than the general population, Henry said, despite perceptions that Omicron is a mild iteration of COVID-19.

People without any vaccine protection make up 42 per cent of ICU patients, and 60 per cent of those under the age of 50. That makes them vastly over-represented, since that group only accounts for 14 per cent of the population.