Nearly four years after B.C. confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus that would come to be known as COVID-19, the province begins 2024 with 219 people in hospital with the disease.

That’s a notable jump since the last update provided by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Dec. 21, when there were 153 test-positive patients in hospital across the province.

In its latest update, the BCCDC says this roughly 43-per-cent increase in the hospitalized population “is being monitored.”

The number of people with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals rose this week, while other data released Thursday by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control was a mixed bag.

There were 263 test-positive COVID patients in provincial hospitals Thursday, up from 244 last week, an increase of 7.7 per cent.

After hitting its highest point in more than a year last week, the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in British Columbia has come down slightly, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

On Thursday, in its first update of October, the BCCDC reported 422 people in hospital with the coronavirus – more than quintuple the August total, and the highest figure reported all year.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in British Columbia, with the BC Centre for Disease Control reporting hospitalizations have increased 58 per cent in the past two weeks.

After publishing COVID-19 data just once a month over the summer, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control returned to biweekly updates this week.