VANCOUVER – British Columbia reported 108 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, hours after authorities opened the province to recreational travel and relaxed several other public health restrictions.

There have now been 146,561 COVID-19 infections and 1,734 related deaths in British Columbia since the start of the pandemic. Health officials had no new coronavirus-related deaths to report on Tuesday.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased by three to 139, while the number of intensive care patients decreased by three to 39.

The update from Dr Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and BC Minister of Health Adrian Dix continued the encouraging downward trend in the number of cases that has been occurring for just over two months.

The weekly moving average fell to 124 cases per day, the lowest since October 11 and about a tenth of the historic high of 1,130 cases per day recorded in April.

Much of this progress has been attributed to British Columbia’s immunization program, which has now delivered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to about 76% of the province’s adult population.

A total of 4,102,905 injections of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca have been dispensed to date, including 657,491 second doses.

Vaccine protection could be tested as part of Stage 2 of the government’s restart plan, which allows non-essential travel across the province, outdoor gatherings of up to 50 people, and resumption of fitness classes in. high intensity room. Bars and restaurants are also now allowed to serve alcohol until midnight.

“As has been the case since the start of the pandemic, our success in this next phase depends on all of us contributing to keeping COVID-19 low and slow,” Henry and Dix said in a joint written statement.

“Let’s work together to keep moving forward on this path.”

As the tourism industry eagerly awaited Tuesday’s reopening, health officials have urged travelers to be careful where they are going and not intrude on communities that do not yet welcome visitors.

“Some people and some communities move at a slower pace – a pace that works for them,” said Henry Sand Dix. “Please be respectful when planning a trip. “

Stage 1 of British Columbia’s restart plan allowed residents to host up to five visitors (or a household) at the home for things like dinners, and brought meals indoors in the restaurants. So far, there has been no noticeable impact on the number of cases.

Of all the infections identified across the province so far, about 98 percent – or 143,299 people – have recovered.