153 in hospital with COVID-19 in BCCDC's final data release of 2023

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control published its final respiratory illness data of the year this week, reporting continued increases in transmission of influenza and RSV, while COVID-19 levels remain stable.

There were 153 people hospitalized with COVID as of Thursday, a decrease from the last time that number was reported two weeks ago.

The number of people in hospital in each BCCDC update of 2023 is shown.

The number of new, lab-confirmed COVID-19 infections also declined in the latest update, though test positivity remained unchanged, indicating the decline was due to fewer government-funded tests being performed.

There were 358 new infections confirmed during the week of Dec. 10 to 16, down from 419 the week before, according to the BCCDC.

The percentage of tests that came back positive was 10.5 per cent during the most recent week, essentially unchanged from 10.4 per cent the week before.

Test positivity rates for influenza and RSV trended in opposite directions during the weeks in question. For the flu, 12.5 per cent of tests were positive between Dec. 10 and 16, down from 13.5 per cent from Dec. 3 through 9. For RSV, positivity rose from 8.5 per cent during the week that ended Dec. 9 to 9.5 per cent the following week.

For all three diseases, the BCCDC's data includes only positive lab-based tests, and is not considered an accurate reflection of the total number of people infected in a given week.

Notably, COVID data also only captures the burden of acute illness. The BCCDC does not release any data about long COVID – which has affected one in nine Canadian adults, or about 3.5 million people, according to Statistics Canada – in its weekly updates. 

To help provide a more detailed picture of respiratory illness transmission in B.C., researchers also monitor virus concentrations at various wastewater facilities across the province. 

In the most recent update, the BCCDC says wastewater surveillance for influenza and RSV has shown increasing concentrations at most plants.

Levels of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, have been more stable.

The BCCDC's next update on respiratory illness data is scheduled for Jan. 4.