Monday November 2, 2020 | VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC [Updated 10:30 pm with incubation timeline commentary and other quotes, and BC CDC data]
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., editor | Island Social Trends
A shocking upsurge in COVID-19 cases was reported today by the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr Réka Gustafson and Health Minister Adrian Dix today reported 1,120 test-positive cases from over the last three days: Friday October 30 through Monday November 2.
That’s about 373 per day, associated with “more time indoors in cooler weather”. Until now, the highest daily count had been 274 (on Thursday October 22) and an average of 272 cases over the previous weekend (October 23 to 26).
Today’s new cases include nine on Vancouver Island (all of those among working-age adults). The other 1,111 cases occurred on the BC mainland (830 in Fraser Health, 234 in Vancouver Coastal, 36 in Interior Health, 10 in Northern Health, and 90 among people who normally live outside of Canada).
There were six new deaths in today’s report (five in Vancouver Coastal and one in Fraser Health).
The goal:
“Our goal is to continue to minimize severe illness and death, balanced with keeping as much as possible open and active in our communities,” said Dr Gustafson. “But to achieve this careful balance, we all need to do our part.”
There are 6,448 people who are self-isolating and under public health surveillance as a result of having been exposed to COVID-19. There are 2,945 active cases throughout BC.
All of those people are life-impacted at least during the time of surveillance or infection, including time away from families, work or school and having to do things in more inconvenient or more expensive ways (like shopping online with the additional delivery charges or having to arrange for someone else to pick up medications at the pharmacy or run other essential errands).
Health Minister Adrian Dix said in today’s 3 pm COVID media teleconference that “COVID has had it’s turn… now it’s time to get our own house in order” when it comes to “closing the gaps” that COVID uses to its advantage.
Numbers of concern show up 14 days after Advance Voting:
“These numbers are concerning for all of us,” said Dix.
People need to make “meaningful changes to their behaviour”, says Dr Gustafson.
However, if you go back 14 days (the usual incubation period) that puts the origin of these cases smack dab in the first three days of Advance Voting week (which was October 15 to 21).
By all measure it appeared that Voting Places were set up within COVID protocols, but who knows what else went on in that period around voting … such as carpooling, touching signs and equipment in and around voting places without hand cleansing in between, and any other number of increased opportunities for transmission beyond the usual at-work and at-school controlled scenarios.
Clear messaging:
“When you’re strong and clear, people are anxious to respond to that,” said Dix with regard to the public health order that Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry released last Monday, October 26 with regard to limiting the size of gatherings in our homes.
Transmission is being seen in social settings more so than work places or schools. The data demonstrates that.
“Use your COVID sense,” says Dix. He asks people to follow the guidelines and orders that are already in place. He said that social media influencers are still welcome to help spread the message, though that still seems odd to be handing off the official science-based message to non-professional media.
COVID Alert app:
Apparently the federal COVID Alert app is not helpful to BC contact tracers at this time.
BC CDC is working with the federal government to revise the app so that it helps in BC’s work to trace COVID exposures, said Dr Gustafson today.
That’s the same indication that Dr Henry said last week; she said the Bluetooth approach to just general vicinity of contact with a test-positive person was not accurate enough to help with the process of meaningful contact tracing.
Dr Henry’s days off:
Dr Henry is “taking a few well deserved days off”, said Dix today. She will be back in the hot seat on Thursday November 5 along with Dix for the next COVID live update.
