COVID-19 stats June 20: global, Canada, BC, Vancouver Island

Saturday June 20, 2020 ~ GLOBAL | CANADA | BC

by Mary Brooke, B.Sc., editor ~ West Shore Voice News

The number of cases of COVID-19 infection continues to escalate around the world, as well as the number of directly-related deaths.

The spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) — the strain of coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) — started gaining a foothold in the human population around January of this year (or some now think in December 2019 in China, Italy and France). Socioeconomic lockdown in response came in early to mid-March across Canada.

In BC a State of Emergency was declared on March 18 which has given the provincial government sweeping powers, such as acquiring or using any land or property considered necessary to address the pandemic and prohibiting travel to or from any area of British Columbia. Individuals were advised to prepare to stay at home, and to safely help others; many sectors of the economy were deemed essential which kept a lot of people still out in the active firing line of COVID-19.

The raw stats – global, USA, Canada:

Continued momentum of the virus is evident in World Health Organization (WHO) statistics for today June 20, 2020.

The global tally of COVID-19 test-positive cases is over 8.5 million (precisely 8,525,042) at this point, with 138,980 being new cases in the last 24 hours. The number of death worldwide stand at 456,973 (of which 6,271 are new in the last 24 hours.)

The United States is a leading hotspot for cases and deaths: 2,172,212 cases (of which 23,046 are new in the last 24 hours) and 118,205 deaths (733 new in the last 24 hours). Border closure remains in place between the USA and Canada — presently until at least July 21 (with some notable exceptions such as supply chain operators like truckers, some family rebonding instances, and possibly allowances for the NHL to have a quarantine-style hub in one Canadian city later this summer).

For Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) shows a June 20 tally of 100,629 test-positive cases of COVID-19 (WHO statistics show a bit of lagtime, for the record showing 100,220 cases, with 367 new for Canada for June 20). PHAC shows a tally of 8,346 deaths in Canada [WHO shows 8,300 deaths, 46 being new].

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COVID-19 Stats in BC:

In BC as of yesterday (June 19), the BC Centre for Disease Control COVID-19 statistics show 2,709 cases (178 being active, and of those 11 people are hospitalized of whom six are in intensive care). To date, 2,444 people who have tested positive have recovered. The death tally has held firm at 168 in BC for almost a week.

Since the start of the pandemic in BC, there have been 952 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,446 in Fraser Health, 130 in the Island Health region, 197 in the Interior Health region, and 65 in Northern Health.

COVID-19 in children and youth in BC:

Among children in BC, the tally is 103 cases of COVID-19 infection (at June 19), which is an increase of three cases in three days (tally at June 16 was 100 cases).

The age profile for youth in BC more deeply shows 39 cases in children up to the age of 10, and 64 cases in youth/teens age 10 to 19.

Schools re-opened in BC just almost three weeks ago (on June 1), on a voluntary basis with physical distancing in place and staggered times for arrival/departure and recess/lunch.

According to BC’s Provincial Health Officer, COVID-19 is more likely to transmit from adult to child. [See CTV news article about a 16-year-old in the USA who has died from COVID-19, likely due to transmission from his mother who actively works in health care.]

Generally, children seem to have an easier time of the active illness, though there may be longer-term cardiovascular impacts.

Working-age population has highest number of cases:

Clearly the highest volume of cases in BC is among the working-age population. In ages 20 to 59, the case count is 1,728. That’s 61.9% of the total cases in BC (June 19). That is generally thought to represent a high proportional of workers in essential services such as health care and frontline retail, as well as in industrial-type workplaces.

Most deaths among the elderly:

The highest number of COVID-19 deaths in BC is in people over age 60 (and for reasons yet unconfirmed, there are more deaths among older men than older women).

And most of the deaths among the elderly have occured in long-term care or assisted living facilities where physical distancing is a challenge and where workers come and go from possible areas of exposure to COVID-19 in the community. Families are prohibited from visiting family members except in exceptional circumstances.

Outbreaks in higher-density scenarios:

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. In total, six long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute care facility have active outbreaks. There is one in Vancouver Coastal Health at Holy Family Hospital long-term care facility and five in Fraser Health: Langley Lodge long-term care facility (second outbreak April 29); Maple Hill long term care facility; Nicola Lodge long-term care facility; Tabor Home long-term care facility; and Valhaven Home long-term care facility.

There have been no new community outbreaks (such as in workplaces), it was reported by BC Health on June 19. Public health teams continue to provide support for the three remaining community locations.

Vancouver Island focus:

The number of test-positive COVID-19 cases on Vancouver Island has remained at 130 for over a week. In that tally, 47 people or 36.1% of all persons with COVID-19 have been over age 60 years (mostly in the 70-79 age grouping). Seven cases of 5.4% were in youth under age 19.

No one is presently in hospital with COVID-19 in Island Health.

There have been five deaths on the island during the pandemic, to date.