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B.C. reports 13 COVID-19 deaths, 649 cases in final update of the week

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Another 649 cases of COVID-19 and 13 related deaths have been recorded across British Columbia, the Ministry of Health announced Friday in its final update of the week.

The latest numbers left the province's seven-day average for new infections at 638 per day and the seven-day average for fatalities at 7.7 per day.

B.C.'s case average remains the second highest of any province or territory in Canada, behind Alberta.

There are now 5,106 active cases of COVID-19 across the province with 365 infectious patients in hospital, including 143 in intensive care. The government does not provide the number of non-infectious coronavirus patients who remain in hospital on a daily basis.

The unvaccinated continue to make up the majority of infections and hospitalizations, despite making up less than 20 per cent of B.C.'s population – including those who are under the age of 12 and therefor ineligible for any of the approved vaccines.

A table provided by Health Minister Adrian Dix on Twitter indicates 83 per cent of ICU patients haven't received a single dose of vaccine, including 20 of the 21 patients who are under the age of 40.

According to the ministry, the unvaccinated were infected at a rate of 311.3 cases per 100,000 population between Oct. 14 and 20, after adjusting for age. The fully vaccinated were infected at a rate of 36.7 per 100,000.

The unvaccinated were hospitalized at a rate of 55.7 cases per 100,000 population from Oct. 7 to 20, after adjusting for age, compared to 2.3 per 100,000 among the vaccinated.

So far, 89.4 per cent of eligible B.C. residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 83.9 per cent have received both.

Earlier this week, officials revealed that cases among unvaccinated school-aged children, which saw a dramatic increase after the start of the fall semester, have been coming back down. The case rate remains higher than any other age group, however.

Next week, health officials are lifting capacity limits for most regions of the province, meaning that events such as Vancouver Canucks games can sell out every seat, provided that everyone inside is vaccinated. Limits will remain in place for Fraser East and parts of Interior Health and Northern Health, which are under targeted local COVID-19 restrictions.

The government had no new outbreaks in health-care facilities to announce Friday, and the one in Cooper Place has ended, leaving 25 active outbreaks across B.C.'s health-care system.

 

 

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