The number of those in hospitals fighting the virus rose by six to 223, while those in intensive care units of those hospitals rose by five to 66. There were eight additional deaths, for a total of 1,335 since the first fatality from the virus was documented last March. The number of recoveries increased by 1,343 but was outpaced by the new cases, leaving 4,560 British Columbians now fighting active infections of the virus, up by 74 from three days ago. The province also said that its testing revealed that 28 more of the 77,263 total confirmed COVID-19 infections are COVID-19 variants, which are believed to transmit more easily and may be more deadly. In total, the province has detected 101 cases of variants.