B.C. COVID hospitalizations at highest level since January

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It may not be on most people's minds, but COVID-19 is on the rise again in B.C.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control released its monthly data on the disease Thursday, showing 204 test-positive patients in provincial hospitals. It's only the second time all year that the hospitalized population has risen above 200, and the first time since early January.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C., according to public updates from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control in 2024, is shown. (CTV News)

The hospital census is more than double what it was at this time last year, when the BCCDC's July update showed just 96 COVID patients receiving hospital care.

In its summary of "key trends" accompanying Thursday's update, the BCCDC described indicators of COVID's severity in the province as "stable with moderate levels of virus circulation."

"SARS-CoV-2 levels are elevated in most wastewater sites relative to April," the agency said. "Testing rates are stable in the last six weeks, but detections have increased, in particular in adults 60 years and older."

There were 435 new infections identified through provincially funded, lab-based testing during the most recent epidemiological week, which spanned June 23 to 29.

That's a marginal increase from the other three epidemiological weeks in June, which saw 400, 404 and 417 lab-confirmed cases, respectively.

The percentage of tests coming back positive has also risen. It jumped from 11.1 per cent in the last week of May to 15.3 per cent in the first week of June. In the most recent week, test positivity was 15.8 per cent.

The vast majority of people in B.C. do not qualify for lab-based tests and are not counted in the BCCDC data unless they are hospitalized.

The reported hospital population includes both those with serious cases of COVID-19 requiring medical care and those who are hospitalized for other reasons and test positive incidentally.

Since Aug. 27, 2023, COVID has been the underlying cause of at least 475 deaths in B.C. More than half of those who died were over the age of 80, and the median age was 86, according to the BCCDC.