COVID-19 in B.C.: 5 deaths, declining hospitalizations in final update of the week

B.C.'s Ministry of Health attributed five more deaths to COVID-19 in its final pandemic update of the week on Friday.

There have now been 2,786 COVID-19-related deaths in B.C. since the pandemic began.

As of Friday, there were 733 test-positive COVID-19 patients in the province's hospitals, a total that includes both those with serious enough illness to require hospitalization and those who were admitted to hospitals for other reasons and tested positive incidentally.

The last time hospitalizations were this low was more than a month ago, on Jan. 15, when 703 people were in hospital.

A total of 113 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care units in B.C., according to the ministry.

The latest deaths were reported in three of the province's regional health authorities. Three deaths happened in Fraser Health, while the Vancouver Coastal and Island health authorities saw one each.

The ministry doesn't report the vaccination status of people whose deaths are attributed to COVID-19 on a daily basis. However, monthly data on vaccination status is available on the B.C. Centre for Disease Control's COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard. 

The data shows unvaccinated people are overrepresented in the province's recent COVID-19 death toll, relative to their share of the total population. 

The vast majority (90.5 per cent) of eligible people ages five and older in the province have received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 85.6 per cent have received two shots.

Among those ages 12 and older, 53.9 per cent have received a booster shot. 

Friday's update also included two new outbreaks in health-care facilities, one at Langley Memorial Hospital and another at Menno Home, a long-term care facility in Abbotsford.

The outbreak at Queen's Park Care Centre in New Westminster is now over, leaving the province with 33 ongoing coronavirus outbreaks in its health-care system.

Patients and workers in health-care settings are among the only groups of people in B.C. who can access a provincially funded PCR test under the province's current testing strategy.

On Friday, 692 new positive tests were recorded in the province. That figure is not considered a reliable indication of the total number of COVID-19 infections in B.C. because of limited testing.

The ministry said in its statement Friday that B.C. will soon begin distributing rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 to the public. Seniors will be given first priority for receiving tests, the ministry said, adding that more details on the program would be provided during next week's media briefing with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.