B.C. health officials are reporting 508 new COVID-19 cases and nine more deaths – taking the death toll to 1,128 people, with 79 new cases in Interior Health.

Active cases in Interior Health are at 1,098 with 37 people in hospital, nine in ICU. A COVID-19 outbreak was also declared at Royal Inland Hospital with eight cases – six patients and two staff members.

There were two deaths in Interior Health taking the death toll to 59 people – one each at carehomes in Oliver and Vernon.

“With news of the provincial mass vaccination plan shared today, we have hope and we can look forward to the fall,” IHA President and CEO Susan Brown said. “But in the meantime, right now, it’s more important than ever to continue following the precautions and use our layers of protection.”

The outbreak at the Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre remains at 24 cases – 17 residents and seven staff, with one death. However, 11 more cases of COVID-19 were identified linked to Big White Mountain taking the total to 214. Seven of the new cases were in people who live or work at Big White, with 45 cases currently active.

Of the known cases linked to this cluster, 137 are in people who live or work on Big White Mountain.

On a positive note, a COVID-19 outbreak related to the Teck mining operations near Elkford that was declared on Dec. 15, 2020 is over with 48 cases among people in Interior Health, Vancouver Island Health, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.

Cases were confirmed at three worksites, with 16 cases total among residents in Interior Health.

Provincewide, the active case count is up slightly to 4,479, with 315 people in hospital, 74 in ICU – both of which are up by six people from yesterday. There are also 6,719 people being actively monitored by public health teams after a known exposure to someone with the virus.

Fraser Health reported 228 new cases, with 132 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 55 in Northern Health, and 13 on Vancouver Island. There was one more case in a person who lives outside of Canada.

There have been 110,566 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered to people, with 2,202 of those being second doses.

The province also released more details on its age-based approach to immunize people by September, but health officials caution the risk of COVID-19 is still high even as vaccines roll out.

“We are not at the point where we can lift restrictions in our community or long-term care,” a statement from the province said. “We must continue to use our COVID-19 layers of protection and do all we can to stop transmission in our communities right now.”

“We can break the chains of transmission and bend the curve through our individual actions. This weekend, choose to bend the curve, not the rules.”

There are now 56,455 people who are considered to have recovered, roughly 89 per cent of the total.