(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)

There were 61 new cases of COVID-19 within Interior Health diagnosed since Monday, raising the region-wide total to 4,239.

As of Jan. 5, there are 35 people in hospital within the Interior Health region, with seven of those in ICU. There was another community/hospital death overnight, raising the death toll to 33.

“Today we lost another member of our community to COVID-19 and on behalf of everyone at Interior Health, I want to offer our sincere condolences to their loved ones and caregivers," Susan Brown, president and CEO of Interior Health said in an emailed statement.

"Sadly, this brings our region to 33 COVID-19 related deaths since the start of the pandemic. I encourage everyone to take the necessary steps to limit the spread of this virus and to stay committed in the fight against COVID-19.”

In the meantime, the Province of British Columbia formally extended the provincial state of emergency, allowing health and emergency management officials to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act (EPA) to support the Province's COVID-19 pandemic response.

The state of emergency is extended through the end of the day on Jan. 19, 2021, to allow staff to take the necessary actions to keep British Columbians safe and manage immediate concerns and COVID-19 outbreaks.

"There's hope on the horizon for the new year with vaccines beginning, but I want to caution everyone to keep following public health orders,"  Premier John Horgan said in a press release. "British Columbians have been working hard to flatten the curve, and to do that, we can't let up too soon. We need everyone to hang in there and continue to do what they need to do to keep case numbers low."

The extension of the provincial state of emergency is based on recommendations from B.C.'s health and emergency management officials. The original declaration was made on March 18, 2020, the day after Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, declared a public health emergency.

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