Eight more people have died of COVID-19 in B.C. in the 24-hour period since the health ministry's last update.
A news release from the ministry Thursday said the death toll now stands at 2,200 since the start of the pandemic.
The ministry also added another 596 cases to its tally, bringing the total confirmed in B.C. to 207,716.
B.C.'s latest modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic shows transmission of the coronavirus flat or declining across the province, with a previous spike in cases among children seemingly over.
COVID-19's reproductive number is at or below one in all regions of the province, meaning each new confirmed infection is spreading, on average, to just one other person, or fewer.
That's a recipe for continued declining cases, something health officials attribute to widespread vaccination.
B.C.'s medium-range projection, however, assumes a reproductive number of 1.07, with cases remaining relatively flat at their current levels, according to the slides presented by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Currently, B.C. is seeing just over 500 new cases of COVID-19 per day, down from a high in the mid-700s earlier in the fourth wave.
Without vaccination, the modelling presentation suggests, the virus' reproductive number would be 3.43, and cases would be growing exponentially, surpassing 8,000 per day in a matter of just a few weeks.
Both projections are based on the existing rules put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus. If there were no vaccines, B.C. would almost certainly need stricter regulations to keep the virus in check and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
With B.C. headed into what she calls "respiratory season," Henry said the existing rules that have helped the province get its reproductive number down to its current level need to stay in place.
"We have, right now, a fragile balance," the provincial health officer said. "We're going down slowly … This is not the time to let off, in any way, on the things we are doing to protect ourselves, our families and our communities."
Henry listed five things she says B.C. residents should do for their health and that of their community. Four of them relate to vaccination. They are: getting a booster dose when it's your turn; getting your first and second doses right away if you haven't; getting an influenza vaccine to protect against the flu; and registering younger children to get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they're eligible.
The fifth thing British Columbians should do, according to Henry, is stay home if they are sick and continue to take actions to limit the spread of COVID-19, such as keeping distance, wearing masks and getting tested as soon as possible when symptoms develop.
- with files CTV -