As of Sunday, Dec. 12 there had been just three cases of the Omicron variant of COVID detected in the Interior Health region and 44 cases in B.C.

Most of them, 24, were in the Fraser Health region, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control today, Dec. 14.

There are five cases on Vancouver Island, four of which are in a University of Victoria rugby club that had a game with Queen’s University.

Just five days earlier, on Dec. 7, there had only been five Omicron cases in B.C.

Of those infected, 20 had travelled recently and seven were not vaccinated.

While Omicron is transmitted more easily than the Delta variant, it's not yet clear if people get sicker, health officials said.

The update also showed that during the last month (Nov. 9 to Dec. 9) unvaccinated people accounted for 68% of hospitalizations and 78% of critical care admissions.

Unvaccinated people are seven times more likely to get COVID, 30 times more likely to be sent to hospital and 50 times more likely to end up in an intensive care unit.

Health officials are seeing cases dropping in B.C. as a whole as vaccination rates increase but case counts are starting to go up on Vancouver Island and some areas of the Lower Mainland, particularly Richmond, the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and Maple Ridge.

The increase on Vancouver Island is related to a religious event in the North Island and at the University of Victoria where a number of large house parties were held off campus and a number of fully vaccinated young people were infected. There are 124 cases at the university. Most from both events are in younger people.

As for those getting hospitalized, the majority are in the 30 to 49 age group where there is also the highest rate of cases. There has been an uptick in cases the 9-11 age group as well.

Cases have gone down in the 70 and older age group because of the booster dose. By today, about 80% of those over the age of 70 will have received their booster doses.

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