Wednesday November 4, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., editor | Island Social Trends
The second wave is on the upsurge in BC. Though the number of cases on Vancouver Island has remained low compared to the BC lower mainland, there have been 18 new cases added to the Vancouver Island tally this week: nine cases on Monday November 2 (representing three days over the weekend), five cases on November 3 and four cases today.
While on Vancouver Island it is apparent that the COVID-19 virus has not spread as much as in other areas of BC, today Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement that there is “one COVID-19 curve” in BC. That’s because “the risks are everywhere and no community or person is immune”.
A small cluster in one region can quickly become an outbreak in another. “That is why province-wide orders are in place throughout BC and why we all need to use our layers of protection, all the time,” said Dr Henry and Minister Dix today.
Since the start of the pandemic in BC, there have been 5,097 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 9,439 in the Fraser Health region, 274 in the Island Health region, 803 in the Interior Health region, 432 in the Northern Health region and 90 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
Vancouver Island COVID profile:
As of November 4, there have been 274 cases of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island which includes four new cases. All of the new cases have been among working-age adults this week, with one also in the 70s age group today.
Cases have been seen relatively evenly around Vancouver Island during the pandemic to date. Of the total 274 cases, 103 (37.6%) have been in South Vancouver Island, with 87 (31.8%) in central, and 84 (30.6%) in the north.
Given the 14-day incubation period for COVID-19 infection, this places the current upsurge in cases back at the mid-October period when there were seven days of advance voting in BC.
Currently, the 22 active cases of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island are seen as eight in the south and north, with six in the central region.
There have been no new cases among children or teens this week, and none in people age 80+.
There are no school exposures listed within Island Health today.
Age distribution:
Among infants and young children (under age 10) there have been seven COVID cases on Vancouver Island to date this year, and 13 cases in kids and teens (ages 10 to 19). Those tallies have not seen an increase since October 22.
Among working age adults the distribution has shown small but steady increases in the Island Health statistics. As of November 4:
- Ages 20-29: 53 cases (1 new today)
- Ages 30-39: 56 cases
- Ages 40-49: 35 cases
- Ages 50-59: 39 cases (1 new today)
- Ages 60-69: 35 cases (1 new today)
Among the elderly:
- Ages 70-79: 26 cases (1 new today)
- Ages 80-89: 9 cases
- Age 90+: 1 case
Active & recovered:
Of the 22 active cases in Island Health today, none are in hospital (as has been the case for several weeks). Now 246 people are said to have recovered from COVID-19 on Vancouver Island.
There have been six deaths in Island Health due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic this year, the last being reported on September 28.
The Island Health dashboard shows the recent cases as from community exposure (BC travel only), and being linked to a confirmed case or cluster.
