Wednesday September 23, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., editor | Island Social Trends
COVID case numbers rolled out like usual the past two days in written reports during this first week of the BC provincial election campaign.
In the community, COVID-19 infection is rolling out as a second wave across Canada — including that declaration by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today in his live address to Canadians.
Trudeau said it’s not likely families and friends will be able to gather for Thanksgiving this year, based on rising case numbers and transmission, but aiming for better circumstances for small Christmas gatherings is a possibility.
Meanwhile, the prime minister encourages people to download the privacy-assured COVID Alert app from the App Store (for iPhones) or Google Play (for IOS and Android). It takes less than a minute to install.
BC COVID case reports:
Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr Bonnie Henry will give her next live COVID press conference about the state of things in BC on Thursday September 24 at 3 pm.
Until a new government is in place, British Columbians will hear directly from public health (Dr Henry and also Deputy Minister of Health Stephen Brown) about the science and statistical details of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
A weekly written report on PPE inventory in BC will be provided as well as a weekly update on surgical renewal in the BC health care system.
Live COVID-19 updates by Dr Henry will continue on Mondays and Thursdays during the election campaign. Daily written statements with BC Centre for Disease Control COVID-19 statistics and relevant public health updates will be issued daily as well.
COVID-19 at September 23:
Today the COVID case total in BC stands at 8,395 (up 187 in the last two days); that includes 96 cases reported yesterday and 91 cases reported today. Currently, 141 of total cases are epi-linked.
There are 1,376 people actively dealing with COVID-19 infection, with 60 of those in hospital (18 of whom are in intensive care or critical care). To date, 717 people in BC have been hospitalized due to COVID-19.
As of September 23, there are 3,368 people under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. This impacts personal, social and economic activities for the person and probably also their family and co-workers.
There have been no new deaths from COVID-19 in these last two reporting periods featuring statistics by the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Age profile of COVID in BC:
Of the total COVID-19 cases in BC, the largest number (3,664 or 43.6%) are in adults under age 40.
Children and teens up to age 19 have together seen 698 of the cases in BC (8.3%). Lingering impacts having to do with cardiovascular inflammation is being seen particularly in younger children.
The 60 to 69 year age group (still largely active in the community and many still in the workforce) show 682 of the cases to date (8.1%, which has been a relatively consistent percentage for many weeks).
Dr Henry has summarized that it is still mostly people age 60+ and anyone with underlying health conditions (including lung, heart and immune-challenged) who have a higher risk of death from COVID-19.
