Wednesday August 12, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary Brooke, B.Sc., editor | West Shore Voice News
The number of new test-positive cases of COVID-19 in BC has jumped by 85 in one day (two are epilinked), as reported today by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC). That’s the highest daily count since back in April at the surge of the pandemic in Phase 1.
From 2,977 tests done in the last day, that number of new cases is 2.85% of tests done (up from 2.2% yesterday). Yesterday there were 46 new cases of COVID-19 in BC, on the tail of 131 cases announced on Monday (that figure encompasses three days, or 36.5 cases per day).
Last week the average number of cases (produced over the BC Day long weekend) hovered in the 47 range. The week before that, daily case numbers were in the 20s.
Presently 1,917 people are in a period of 14-day self-isolation under the watchful eye of public health, for having been exposed or potentially exposed to COVID-19 in recent days.
Numbers on the rise:
British Columbians did a good job of flattening the curve and keeping case counts low while everyone was in self-isolation and out of the workforce back in March, April and May. But numbers have been increasing during Phase 3 with the reopening of the economy under various guidelines.
Today both the Premier and the Provincial Health Officer indicated that it’s a small segment of the population that is trying to bend the physical distancing rules (i.e. not maintaining physical distancing especially in closed spaces such as private parties) that is contributing to this mid-August spike in COVID-19 cases.
Appealing to celebrities to carry the physical-distancing message to people in their teens and 20s is an odd thing to see a Premier doing in a media conference. It might seem innovative, but it actually shows a lack of communications effectiveness by public health if all that’s left is to reach out in such a haphazard manner to people whose main occupation is the glitz of stardom.
Tracing the cases:
More contact tracers are being hired to help with the load of that work during the upcoming fall-winter respiratory illness season (commonly called ‘flu season’). About 500 temporary positions will be filled by retired nurses and recent nurse graduates, said Premier John Horgan today in a media conference in Victoria.
COVID by age:
Today, August 12, there are six new cases reported in children under the age of 10, and no new cases in ages 10 to 19. Now 268 children and youth have in total contracted the COVID-19 infection in BC (92 children under age 10 and 176 youth in the 10-19 age group).
The young adult age grouping of 20-29 years saw the highest number of cases today — 24 cases, bringing that age group to 759 cases in BC. That’s 18.2% of all cases in BC (up from 16.9% five days ago).
In the mid-adult age groupings, there have been 2,009 infections in BC to date (47.9% of all BC cases, down ever so slightly from 48.3% five days ago on August 7). There were increases in all groupings in today’s stats, for a total of 27 new cases: 754 cases in age 30-39 years (14 new cases today); 594 cases in age 40-49 years (nine new cases); and 661 cases in age 50-59 years (four new cases).
In the young-senior age group of 60-69 years, there were three new COVID case today in BC, bringing the total for that age category to 411 (that’s up by 11 in the last five days). Presently, the 60-69 age group comprises 9.8% of all COVID cases in BC to date (that percentage being down slightly from 10.1% on August 7).
In stark contrast to the beginning of the pandemic in March through May when case counts were high among older seniors and elders, today there are no new cases in the 70-79 age group (and just one in each of the 80-89 and 90+ age groups). In total for all cases in persons over age 70, there have been 699 cases of COVID to date in BC, which is up by only six cases in five days, and represents 16.6% of the total cases in the province (down from 17.6% five days ago).
COVID lands people in hospital:
There are currently eight people in BC who are in hospital due to COVID-19 infection. Of those five are in intensive care. While these numbers seem small, it can remind people of the possible intensity of the infection.
While public health messaging overwhelmingly focussed on the impacts of COVID-19 infection on older seniors and elders, it was as far back as April of this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) was trying to warn younger people about the severity of the illness. “This virus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you… people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalisation,” said WHO Director General Dr Tedros last week.
Meanwhile, the BC CDC reports today that 3,469 people have recovered from their test-positive COVID infection.
But also, presently around 1,800 people throughout BC are self-isolating, unable to leave their home unless it is to get medical care, because they have COVID-19 or have had a high-risk exposure to the virus. “This is a concern and something we can change,” said Dr Bonnie Henry in a written statement issued by BC Health today.
12-day run on no-new-deaths:
As of August 12, there are 196 deaths-by-COVID recorded in BC. That’s the first new case in 12 days.
Vancouver Island COVID profile:
On Vancouver Island there havebeen two new COVID cases today August 12, bringing the total up to 150. One person is in the 20-29 age group, and the other is in the 30-39 year age group. These are age groups likely with increased social interaction including within the workforce.
Case counts on Vancouver Island diminished to zero on many days in May and June, with increases again in July and early August.
Presently there is no one in hospital with COVID-19 on Vancouver Island.
===== Links:
BC Centre for Disease Control – COVID data