B.C. continues to make headway in combatting COVID-19, with 272 new cases detected in the past 24 hours – the fewest cases in a day since August 3, when there were 201.
While newly discovered infections tend to be lower on Mondays, as there is less testing done on Sundays, case counts have been on the decline in the past couple weeks. Health officials found 970 new cases in the three days since the last data update, with 309 cases discovered on November 28, as well as 389 cases detected on November 27.
No cases of Omicron, the newest variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, has yet been discovered in B.C., health officials said on Friday.
The lower number of new cases mean that presumed recoveries are outpacing new illness, prompting the number of active cases to fall to 2,882, which is the lowest number since August 6.
The 970 new cases detected in the past three days include:
• 306 in Fraser Health;
• 103 in Vancouver Coastal Health;
• 189 in Interior Health;
• 134 in Northern Health; and
• 238 in Island Health.
The 2,882 active cases include:
• 1,015 in Fraser Health;
• 396 in Vancouver Coastal Health;
• 534 in Interior Health;
• 398 in Northern Health; and
• 539 in Island Health.
Of the 218,068 people known to have contracted COVID-19 in B.C., the government lists 212,704, or 97.5%, as recovered.
The B.C. government usually considers COVID-19 patients to have recovered if they have gone 10 days following first feeling symptoms, as they are therefore deemed to no longer be infectious. Some patients, however, continue to have health problems for months after their recoveries.
Of those actively infected, 303 are in B.C. hospitals, with 115 of those in intensive care units (ICUs).
Another 11 people succumbed to their illness in the past three days, raising the province's pandemic death toll to 2,333.
The new deaths include:
• four in Fraser Health;
• four in Interior Health; and
• three in Northern Health.
Those who are contracting COVID-19, and becoming seriously ill with the disease tend to be those who are unvaccinated.
Between November 19 and November 25, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 59% of new cases, and between November 12 and November 25, those individuals accounted for 67.2% of hospitalizations.
This is despite the vast majority of British Columbians already fully vaccinated.
B.C. government data show that 4,223,237 residents have had at least one dose of vaccine, while 4,067,778, or more than 96.3% of those are fully vaccinated. The government estimates that 91.1% of eligible British Columbians, older than 12 years, have had at least one vaccine shot, while 87.8% of B.C. residents are considered fully vaccinated with two jabs.
The B.C. government last year estimated that the province's total population is 5,147,712, so Glacier Media's calculation is that more than 82% of B.C.'s total population has had at least one dose of vaccine, and 79% of the province's total population has had two doses.
Older people endure more serious bouts of COVID-19, which is why the government has required those who work in seniors' homes, and other health-care facilities to be vaccinated.
Some good news is that there are no new COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. health-care facilities. Outbreaks at Abbotsford's Tabor Home and Maplewood House are now declared over, which leaves the province with six active outbreaks in those facilities. •
