Tuesday October 27, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated 7 pm]
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., editor | Island Social Trends
The total BC COVID case count is 13,588 which is up by 217 cases in the last 24 hours. Those new cases were found through 5,157 tests.
Of the total BC cases, 2,322 (-3) are active. And of those 84 (+7) are in hospital, with 27 (+1) in intensive care. No new cases on Vancouver Island; most are in the lower mainland areas (Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions).
These stats and notes are from the daily weekday release that comes from Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry and Deputy Minister of Health Stephen Brown. Until there is a sworn-in new government, there is no political contribution to the COVID scene in BC (the election was on October 24 but it will take up to three weeks for election results to be finalized by Elections BC).
Yesterday Dr Henry said that the growth in case numbers over last weekend and the time period after Thanksgiving is “concerning, especially in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions”.
British Columbians have now been reminded to keep personal interactions small and contained on Halloween, and to think about that same approach for Christmas.
Self-isolating – the number grows:
Presently 5,101 (+24) people are self-isolating due to known exposure to the virus, which is the highest tally yet.
That’s not as benign as it sounds. These people are therefore impacted in their daily lives — including most likely adjustments to family arrangements in the home, employment availability or location, access to resources (and the cost to have things delivered).
People who have contracted COVID-19 are also open to possible long-term health impacts that will affect anything from type of employment, range of physical activity, ongoing need for medications, and changes to insurance policies.
COVID-19 outbreaks:
Yesterday there was 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 two new long-term care outbreaks, bring the total to 23 active outbreaks in long-term care (21) and assisted care (two). In those types of facilities, as of yesterday 967 people have tested positive for COVID-19 (549 residents and 418 staff). Dr Henry has been careful all year to articulate these numbers.
No new community outbreaks. 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 13,588 cases in BC at October 27, the distribution is seen increasingly rather steadily in all age groups.
Among all persons under the age of 19 (children and teens combined), there have been 1,484. That’s about 10.9% of cases in BC to date in the pandemic this year (519 of those under the age of 10).
In the October 27 COVID stats, another 11 children under the age of 10 tested positive, and 23 youth ages 10 to 19 also tested positive for COVID. Youth in that age group comprised 15.7% of the day’s new cases.
Mainstream working-age adults (age 20 to 59) are seeing case-surges. In the last 24 hours those groups combined saw 131 new cases (60.3% of the day’s total new cases). People in their 20s — with their whole adult live ahead of them, possibly now compromised by lingering impacts of the COVID infection — comprise 3,181 of the cases (23.4%) so far this year. This not only impacts their own health and lives but will have an impact on what work they can or cannot do, which leads to economic impacts.
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 1,070 (+11) test-positive COVID cases in people ages 60 to 69 in BC since the start of the pandemic. These are in many cases parents and grandparents too, who can be affected by the spread from younger people in their lives and households. This age group comprises 7.87% of all cases so far this year.
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 1,263 test-positive cases of COVID-19 in the BC CDC cohorts called 70-79, 80-89, and 90+. Breakdown:
- 70 to 79: 645 (+10 in the last day)
- 80 to 89: 408 (+2 in the last day)
- 90+: 210 (+1 in the last day)
Vancouver Island sees containment:
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). But Dr Henry is not letting her guard down on COVID in this region.
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.
Islanders may in fact benefit by the less dense populations on the island but also leaning to an overall more outdoor-lifestyle of just enjoying nature, more so than in dense urban areas.
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 27 there are 84 people in hospital, with 27 of those in intensive care or acute care.
There have been 797,381 tests done in BC this year for COVID-19.
There have been 259 deaths to date (none reported today, but including three new deaths 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 10,001 deaths (+28 in the last day) 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 in Canada is 222,887 (+2,674 since yesterday) of which 26,422 (+488 since yesterday) are currently active. [Stats/map above to October 27, 2020]
===== LINKS (from BC Health):
BCCDC’s safer celebrations guidance: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/social-interactions/safer-celebrations
To learn more about the Oct. 5 modelling presentation, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/COVID19_Going_Forward_Oct_2020.pdf
Guidance for Halloween during COVID-19: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/social-interactions/halloween
To find the provincial health officer’s orders, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus
To see a map of COVID-19 cases by local health area, visit:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
If you are experiencing symptoms, find a collection centre near you to get tested: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/testing
For mental health and anxiety support, visit: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or: www.anxietycanada.com
For a listing of the community exposure events, visit:
BCCDC (flights, work sites, etc.): http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures
Fraser Health: fraserhealth.ca/covid19exposure
Interior Health: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/
Island Health: https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/outbreaks-and-exposures
Northern Health: https://www.northernhealth.ca/health-topics/outbreaks-and-exposures
Vancouver Coastal: http://www.vch.ca/covid-19/public-exposures
For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.
For non-health related information, including financial, child care and education supports, travel, transportation and essential service information, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19
Or call 1 888 COVID19 (1 888 268-4319) between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Pacific time), seven days a week.
For the latest videos and livestreaming of COVID-19 media availabilities, visit:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCProvincialGovernment/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCGovNews
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ProvinceofBC