B.C.'s COVID-19 hospitalization total to jump as province changes reporting system
The B.C. government has announced it's moving to a system of "census hospitalization reporting," meaning that every patient in hospital who tests positive for COVID-19 will be included in daily numbers.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the new reporting system will result in B.C.'s hospitalization total increasing from Thursday's record high of 534 to upwards of 600.
Census reporting makes no attempt to separate out so-called "incidental" COVID-19 cases, which include patients who are hospitalized for reasons unrelated to the virus but test positive during routine screening, such as those heading into surgery or delivering a baby.
"They're not being hospitalized because of the impact of COVID, either directly or indirectly from exacerbation of other illness," Henry said.
The province described its previous reporting system as "a bit of a composite" of census data and hospitalization line lists from its health authorities. Analyzing those lists to separate out incidental cases takes significant effort, Henry said, and has become increasingly challenging as the Omicron variant resulted in unprecedented transmission in the province.
"It really means we have to do a chart review of every individual case," the provincial health officer said, adding the officials are trying to find a way to automate the process.
The previous system also excluded those who caught COVID-19 in hospital because of an outbreak, and those who live out of province.
While the census system is an "overestimate" of COVID-19's impact on B.C.'s hospitals, Henry said it is the cleanest way of reporting for now. More detailed breakdowns separating hospitalizations caused by severe COVID-19 illness from incidental cases will be published by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on routine basis, possibly weekly.
As part of a modelling presentation on Friday, Henry also presented a breakdown of 56 COVID-19 hospitalizations recorded last month in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 45 per cent of which were incidental.
"This gives us a representative sample of what we might be seeing in other places," she said.
Of the patients who required hospitalization for COVID-19, the majority had the Delta variant. That included 64 per cent of those hospitalized who didn't need critical care, as well as 78 per cent of those who required critical care or died as a result of the disease.
There were no confirmed Omicron cases in the latter group, as the other 22 per cent of patients were not sequenced.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.