Tuesday October 27, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., editor | Island Social Trends
The three-day BC COVID case count from this past weekend skyrocketed by 817, bringing the provincial total to 13,371 as of Monday October 26. Of those cases, 2,325 are active (and of those 77 are in hospital, with 26 further in intensive care). No new cases on Vancouver Island; most are in the lower mainland areas (Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions).
In her livestreamed update yesterday, Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry called the new numbers “a sobering weekend”.
See more details here about her new restrictions on gathering-size and expectation that people now wear masks in any indoor public spaces.
With the largest-ever number of daily cases (317) recorded between October 23 and 24 (Friday to Saturday) — together with 293 Saturday to Sunday and 207 Sunday to today — BC’s top doctor says the growth in case numbers is “concerning, especially in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions”.
Self-isolating – the number grows:
Presently 5,077 people are self-isolating due to known exposure to the virus, which is the highest number yet.
That is not as benign as it sounds. These people are therefore life-impacted to some degree, including most likely adjustments to family arrangements in the home, employment availability or location, access to resources (and the cost to have things delivered).
COVID-19 outbreaks:
There is one more outbreak at a school in BC, bringing that to two school outbreaks since students and staff went back to in-class learning in September. The first school (a small school — elementary through secondary — in the Kelowna area) now has 11 cases, up from five before last weekend.
There are four new long-term care outbreaks, bring the total to 21 active outbreaks in long-term care and assisted care. In those facilities, now 967 people have tested positive for COVID-19 (549 residents and 418 staff). Dr Henry has always been careful to articulate these numbers.
Last week two outbreaks in food processing plants were announced. The proximity of people (and perhaps limits to how well air can be circulated) seems to produce outbreaks in these types of facilities (including a few during this past summer).
Age distribution:
Of the 13,371 cases in BC, the distribution is starting to spread more in all age groups.
Among all persons under the age of 19 (children and teens combined), there have been 1,350. That’s about 10% of cases in BC to date in the pandemic this year (508 of those under the age of 10), but is 4.65% of the 817 new cases.
Over the three reporting periods of October 23 to 26 another 38 children under the age of 10 tested positive, and 94 youth ages 10 to 19 also tested positive for COVID. Youth in that age group comprised 11.5% of the new cases from last weekend.
Mainstream working-age adults (age 20 to 59) are seeing case-surges. Just in the last three reporting periods (reported Monday October 26) those groups combined saw 616 cases (75.4% of the total new cases).
There appears to be a wide range of health impacts in people in the working-age groups… from dealing with the infection handily to those who have lingering symptoms for up to many months. Some impacts appear they will be permanent (such as lung tissue damage and cardiovascular impacts) which leads to long-term and perhaps chronic health issues.
Many adults in their 60s are still working (if not in the mainstream workplace then from home), and as they are generally included in the ‘age’ risk factor, this group needs to be looked at distinctly. In total there have been 1,059 test-positive COVID cases in people ages 60 to 69 in BC since the start of the pandemic. Just this past week (in those three reporting periods) 51 more people tested positive (6.2% of the new weekend cases). These are in many cases parents and grandparents too, who can be affected by the spread from younger people in their lives and households.
The elderly (age 70+) are seeing strong case-count increases. Not all of these people are in long-term care, but many are. This grouping was at first the main ‘vulnerable’ group referred to by public health as needing the most protection from the virus. Most of the deaths do occur in these age groups.
To date in the pandemic, there have been 1,250 test-positive cases of COVID-19 in the BC CDC cohorts called 70-79, 80-89, and 90+. Breakdown:
- 70 to 79: 635 (+25 in the last three days)
- 80 to 89: 406 (+9 in the last three days)
- 90+: 209 (+2 in the last three days)
Vancouver Island – no new cases this past weekend:
As for the continued awareness of Vancouver Islanders that case counts and transmission have been low here throughout the pandemic so far (250 cases all year to date, only 26 people hospitalized, and just six deaths), Dr Henry is not letting her guard down.
The COVID-19 virus uses human bodies as its hosts in which it will further replicate, and does not discriminate by geographical boundary.
Dr Henry — who herself lives in the south Vancouver Island area, called the low number of cases on Vancouver Island “protective” but that it’s “not absolute”. Things can change quickly.
Her overall message today was that no one should stop following the COVID-19 protocols which she calls very basic, including physical distancing, staying home if not well, wearing a face mask, and keeping social bubbles and gatherings small.
Hospitalization, testing and deaths:
In the pandemic in BC to date there have been 950 hospitalizations (26 of those on Vancouver Island). As of October 26 there are 77 people in hospital, with 26 of those in intensive care or acute care.
There have been 792,224 tests done in BC this year for COVID-19. Just this past weekend 2,325 tests were done.
There have been 259 deaths to date (three new, in long-term care, this past weekend).
COVID-19 across Canada:
By all accounts the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to get worse before they get better. We are in a second wave, and a third wave is already expected. Dovetailing of the flu season (October through March) adds complications to diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, including availability of hospital space.
There have been 9,973 deaths due to COVID-19 in Canada since the start of the pandemic this year (259 of those in BC). The number of test-positive COVID-19 cases to date is 220,213 of which 25,934 are currently active. [Stats/map above to October 26, 2020]
