victoria — british columbia has reported 689 new cases of covid-19, with infections in the interior health region driving the upward trend.
there are currently 5,982 active cases of covid-19 in the province.
interior health has more than double the number of active cases compared with the rest of the province’s health authorities.
the province also reported 121 hospitalizations, the highest since mid-june.
the independent
b.c. covid-19 modelling group
said in a report published wednesday that it expects hospitalizations to continue to rise and warns of the long-term impact of the delta variant.
the group also forecasts a wave of covid-19 cases in the fall, linked to a rise in delta-variant cases among children and youth.
it warned that if no action is taken to prevent covid-19 infections during the fall, case counts are modelled to hit about 10,000 to 12,000 per day.
the group said if that were to happen, b.c.’s hospitals would be overrun with bed shortages.
the b.c. teachers’ federation said in a statement thursday that it wants a provincewide mask mandate to start the school year, as well as ventilation improvements and cleaning of all high-touch surfaces during the school day.