Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry also revealed 2,206 new coronavirus infections were recorded over the same period, including 447 from Christmas Day to Boxing Day.

B.C. has now recorded 50,815 cases of COVID-19 and suffered 882 fatalities since the start of the pandemic. Henry, who choked up while delivering news of the latest deaths, pointed to the province’s ongoing struggle to protect seniors in long-term care from the disease.

The province has declared eight new outbreaks in seniors’ homes since last Thursday, including recent outbreaks at the Rideau Retirement Residence in Burnaby and Brookside Lodge in Surrey.

Others at PICS Assisted Living, Courtyard Terrace, Agassiz Seniors Community and Fort Langley Seniors Community have been declared over, leaving 56 active outbreaks in long-term care homes and assisted living facilities.

There are also eight ongoing outbreaks in acute care centres, including Vancouver General Hospital and University Hospital of Northern B.C.

The province’s latest infections were identified over five 24-hour reporting periods: 512 were recorded from Thursday to Friday, followed by 447 from Friday to Saturday, 424 from Saturday to Sunday, 442 from Sunday to Monday and 382 from Monday to Tuesday.

The province does not provide daily breakdowns for COVID-19 deaths, but recorded an average of almost 15 per day since Christmas Eve.