COVID-19 update for Dec. 22: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

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IN-DEPTH:COVID-19: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus

B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

• COVID-19: Here’s everything you need to know about the novel coronavirus

• COVID-19 FAQ: What you need to know about the vaccine rollout in B.C.

• COVID-19: Have you been exposed? Here are all B.C. public health alerts

• COVID-19 at B.C. schools: Here are the school district exposure alerts

• COVID-19: Avoid these hand sanitizers that are recalled in Canada

• COVID-19: Here’s where to get tested in Metro Vancouver

• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

LATEST NEWS on COVID-19 in B.C.

3 p.m. – Health officials are set to share latest figures on COVID-19 in B.C.

Health officials are expected to update the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries across the province.

Monday, 3 p.m. – 1,667 new cases, 41 additional deaths

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, said Monday that the province recorded 1,667 new cases of COVID-19 on the weekend.

There have been a total of 47,067 positive tests for COVID-19 in the province since the start of the pandemic.

She also reported that 41 more people had died from the disease.

On Monday, Henry confirmed that vaccine deliveries have now arrived in every health region in the province.

“The other health regions are preparing, even as we speak, to get immunization clinics underway in the coming days,” she said.

Since the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be stored in ultra-cold freezers at minus-70ºC, Henry said health officials are still figuring out a way to transfer the vaccine to places such as long-term care facilities where it’s most needed. It may be that the province will have to wait until Health Canada approves the vaccine from U.S. biotech firm Moderna before it can expand its immunization effort to cover the B.C.’s most vulnerable.