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COVID-19 hospitalizations in B.C. rise to highest level in more than six months

The number of people actively battling COVID-19 in B.C. has passed the 3,000 mark for the first time
dixwithgustafson
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix (foreground), with deputy provincial health officer Reka Gustafson | B.C. government

The high level of new COVID-19 infections in B.C. is continuing, while more people are being monitored by health officials than ever before, and there are more people in hospital than has been the case since late April, according to government data revealed November 3.

Also worrying is that the positive-test rate continues to soar, and is the highest in at least many weeks, based on the information that the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control releases daily. With 4,848 tests, the rate has risen to 6.16% – much higher than that rate has been in many weeks.  The BCCDC has changed some past data, compared to what was originally reported, perhaps because of a change in the daily cut-off times for tests. 

Some good news is that the number of daily cases dipped under 300, to 299, after several days of much higher counts.

The number of people in hospitals battling COVID-19 is up by two, compared with yesterday, as 92 people are in those facilities. This is an important metric because exponential spread of the disease could fill up hospitals and intensive care units. Of the 92 hospital patients with the virus, only 22 are in intensive care units, which are the places where people are put on ventilators. 

Three people have died from the virus overnight, raising the province’s death toll from COVID-19 to 272.

There have now been 15,800 known infections from the virus in B.C. since late January, when the first case was identified.

Of those, 12,430 people have recovered, 3,017 people have active infections, 272 people have died, and 81 people are unaccounted for, with health officials telling BIV that the most likely explanation is that they left the province without alerting authorities. 

Here is the breakdown of all detected COVID-19 cases in B.C., by health region, with new cases identified overnight in brackets:

• 4,993 in Vancouver Coastal Health (95);

• 9,234 in Fraser Health (185);

• 270 in Island Health (five);

• 788 in Interior Health (eleven);

• 425 in Northern Health (three); and

• 90 people who reside outside Canada (no change).

“There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Belvedere Care Centre,” Health Minister Adrian Dix and deputy provincial health officer Réka Gustafson said in a joint statement. 

Dozens of other seniors’ care homes and living facilities have ongoing outbreaks. 

In Vancouver Coastal Health those homes include:

• Haro Park Centre long-term care facility in Vancouver;

• Lakeview Care Centre in Vancouver;

• Louis Brier Home & Hospital in Vancouver;

• Royal Arch Masonic Home long-term care facility in Vancouver;

• Three Links Care Centre long-term care facility in Vancouver;

• Banfield Pavilion, the 4th Floor West long-term care facility, in Vancouver;

• Yaletown House long-term care facility in Vancouver; and

• Hamilton Village Care Centre long-term care facility in Richmond.

In ​Fraser Health, those homes include:

• Agassiz Seniors Community in Agassiz;

• Amenida Seniors Community in Surrey;

• Belvedere Care Centre in Coquitlam;

• CareLife Fleetwood in Surrey;

• Evergreen Baptist Care Society long-term care facility in White Rock;

• Fair Haven Homes Burnaby Lodge in Burnaby;

• Fellburn Care Centre long-term care facility in Burnaby;

• Laurel Place long-term care facility in Surrey;

• Hawthorne Seniors Care Community assisted living in Port Coquitlam;

• Mayfair Terrace Retirement Residence in Port Coquitlam;

• Peace Portal Seniors Village long-term care facility in Surrey;

• PICS assisted-living facility in Surrey;

• Queen’s Park Care Centre in New Westminster;

• Rosemary Heights Seniors Village independent-, assisted- and long-term care facility in Surrey;

• St. Michael’s Centre long-term care facility in Burnaby;

• The Gateway Assisted Living for Seniors in Surrey; and

• Good Samaritan Delta View Care Center 2 long-term care facility in Delta.

One final seniors’ home with an outbreak is the Rotary Manor Dawson Creek facility in Dawson Creek, in Northern Health. 

“There has been one new community outbreak at Capella Dance Academy,” Dix and Gustafson said. 

“Today, much of the recent transmission is connected to social gatherings. That is why it is so important to keep our groups small.”

gkorstrom@biv.com

@GlenKorstrom