COVID hospitalizations hit new low for the year as BCCDC switches to monthly reports
The number of people in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19 dropped to a new 2024 low for a second week in a row Thursday, as the B.C. Centre for Disease Control prepares to switch to its summer reporting schedule.
There were 105 test-positive patients in hospitals around the province Thursday, the lowest total the BCCDC has reported so far this year, and a slight decrease from the 112 reported last week.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C. in 2024, as reported in public updates from the BCCDC, is shown. (CTV News)
This week's total is the lowest the BCCDC has reported since last August and is less than a third of the hospital population reported in late April last year.
The BCCDC's April 20, 2023, update showed 316 people in hospital with COVID.
Notably, the number of COVID-positive patients the agency reports in its updates includes both those who have serious cases of the disease requiring hospitalization, and those who are admitted to hospital for other reasons and test positive for COVID incidentally.
CTV News tracks the reported hospital population as a rough proxy for the spread and severity of COVID in the province at a given time, though other data shared by the BCCDC can also help illustrate trends.
On Thursday, the agency reported 252 new infections confirmed through lab-based testing during the most recent epidemiological week, which spanned April 14 to 20.
That total is identical to the one the BCCDC reported for the preceding epidemiological week, but because more tests were conducted during the week ending April 20, the percentage of tests coming back positive declined in the most recent update. Test positivity was 8.8 per cent during the last epidemiological week, down from 9.2 per cent the week before.
Thursday's data represents the penultimate weekly report from the BCCDC before it reduces the frequency of such reports. Next week's update on May 2 will be the last one until the first Thursday of June.
Last year, the agency provided monthly updates on COVID-19 data from May through September, before reverting to biweekly and then weekly reports in the fall.
The BCCDC has not indicated when weekly reporting will resume this year.
While COVID data will be reported monthly starting in May, reports on other respiratory illnesses will cease to be shared until the fall, according to the BCCDC.
Wastewater surveillance data will continue to be updated on a weekly basis, however.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.