COVID-19 hospitalizations dipping, but 19 deaths reported in 24 hours in latest B.C. update
Another 19 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in British Columbia in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said in its daily update.
The update included that 946 people who've tested positive for the disease are in hospital, down from 985 from the day before, and from more than 1,000 earlier this week.
Hospitalizations are often seen as an indicator of the severity of the dominant variants in B.C., but the death rate shows that even as patients are released from hospital, lives are still being lost.
Nineteen is not a record number of deaths in B.C. – the highest single-day total was in December 2020, when 28 people died – but it is high considering officials said three weeks ago that the province likely hit its transmission peak.
The daily death toll also pushes the rolling seven-day average to 11.1 deaths, the highest that number has been in more than a year.
Of the patients in hospital with COVID-19, 139 people are being treated in intensive care units across B.C. The metric described by health officials as hospitalizations is a total that includes both those who have serious enough illness to require hospitalization and those who were admitted to hospital for other reasons and tested positive incidentally.
The number only includes cases confirmed through testing, as does the total of daily confirmed cases. Once treated as an important figure in measuring the spread of the novel coronavirus, testing guidelines mean that it's hard to say how many people actually have COVID-19, as most people with symptoms are now just told to stay home and assume they have it.
Still, it's a figure provided daily. Friday's update, the final update of the week, included that another 1,799 people have tested positive.
The active total now stands at 25,479, though health officials say it could be much, much higher, and the total number of cases confirmed since the start of the pandemic has risen to 330,942.
Of the latest cases added to the tally, 551 were in the Fraser Health Authority, 531 were in Interior Health, 294 were in Vancouver Coastal Health, 232 were in Island Health, and the remaining 191 were in Northern Health.
The vast majority of people confirmed to have the disease (301,573) have recovered.
But of the people known to have a COVID-19 infection, another 2,675 have died.
Six of the latest deaths were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, and the same number of people died in the Island Health Authority. Five had lived in Fraser Health and two were in Northern Health.
The ministry does not provide the vaccination statuses of the deceased, but does give information on those in hospital.
Those who are unvaccinated continue to be over-represented. The group represents less than 14 per cent of the population, but more than 20 per cent of cases in the last two weeks, and 26.3 per cent of hospitalizations.
The province presents cases per 100,000 population in its daily updates. Between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, when adjusting for age, there were 411.7 unvaccinated people with COVID-19 infections per 100,000 in B.C., compared to 162.6 among people who are partially vaccinated, and 234.8 among the fully vaccinated.
Over a two-week period, Jan. 20 to Feb. 2, there were 88.2 unvaccinated people per 100,000 in hospital, 49.6 partially vaccinated and 19 fully vaccinated.
Both the rates have been adjusted for age.
As of Friday, a total of 10,872,777 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province. Ninety per cent of all eligible people have had at least one shot, and 84.2 per cent have had both. About half of eligible adults have also had their booster shot.
Also announced Friday were three new health-care facility outbreaks, bringing the total to 58 facilities in B.C.
The latest outbreaks are at Creekside Landing (Interior Health), and at Chemainus Health Care Centre and Selkirk Seniors Village, both in the Interior Health area.
However, it's unclear exactly how widespread COVID-19 currently is in B.C. care homes, as there's confusion over changes to the criteria.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Economic experts call it 'terrible policy,' but most Canadians support expansion of Old Age Security benefits: Nanos survey
Amid new polling indicating most Canadians support boosting Old Age Security benefits by 10 per cent for seniors aged 65 to 74, a former Liberal finance minister and former Bank of Canada governor are warning the government not to pursue the policy change.
Tax rebate: Canadians with low to modest incomes to receive payment on Friday
Canadians who are eligible for a GST/HST tax credit can expect their final payment of the year on Friday.
WestJet ordered to reimburse B.C. passenger for hotel, despite claim bill was 'excessive'
WestJet failed to convince a B.C. tribunal that a woman whose flight was delayed for three days spent an "excessive" amount on a hotel room, and the airline has been ordered to pay her full bill.
A 6-year-old girl was kidnapped in Arkansas in 1995. Almost 30 years later, a suspect was identified
Nearly 30 years after a six-year-old girl disappeared in Western Arkansas, authorities have identified a suspect in her abduction through DNA evidence.
Pit bulls in B.C. pet mauling tested positive for meth, cocaine, says city
Three pit bulls involved in a deadly attack on another dog last month in Kamloops, B.C., tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine, and the city is going to court to have them put down.
Parliament 'ground to a halt' over Conservative allegations of Liberal corruption
Government business has been put on indefinite pause in the House of Commons and the Conservatives say it will stay that way until the Liberals hand over documents related to misspent government dollars.
DoorDash driver who appeared to spit in Ontario man's drink removed from platform
A DoorDash driver who was caught on camera appearing to spit into an Ontario man’s drink has been removed from the platform, the food delivery company has confirmed.
Iran's foreign minister vows harsh retaliation if Israel strikes Iran in response to missile barrage
Iran's foreign minister warned Israel on Friday that if it carries out an attack on Iran, Tehran will retaliate in a harsh way.
'No one has $70,000 dollars lying around': Toronto condo owners facing massive special assessment
The owners of a North York condominium say they are facing a $70,000 special assessment to fix their building's parking garage. '$70,000 is a lot of money. It makes me very nervous and stressed out of nowhere for this huge debt to come in,' said Ligeng Guo.