Number in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C. hits new low for 2024 in latest update

The number of patients in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19 dropped to a new low for the year in the latest weekly update from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

The BCCDC reports 112 test-positive patients in provincial hospitals as of Thursday, a decrease of 29 – or more than 20 per cent – since this time last week.

The number of patients in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C. in published reports from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control in 2024 is shown. (CTV News)

The previous low for 2024 came at the start of this month, when there were 132 people reported in hospital with COVID in B.C.

The last time the BCCDC reported a hospitalized population lower than the total reported Thursday was last August, when there were just 76 people in provincial hospitals with the disease.

Thursday's total is a notable contrast to the number of patients reported in B.C. hospitals at this time last year. The BCCDC's update for April 20, 2023, showed 316 people in hospital with COVID, a total that was the second-highest of the year to that point.

Matching the decline in the hospital population this week, the BCCDC also reported lower numbers of new infections and a lower test positivity Thursday for the most recent epidemiological week, which spanned April 7 through 13.

There were 250 new, lab-confirmed cases during that time frame, down from 342 the week before.

The decrease wasn't purely the result of fewer tests being completed, either. While there were fewer lab tests for COVID conducted in the province during the week that ended April 13 than at any point since last September, the percentage of those tests that came back positive also declined relative to the preceding week.

Test positivity was 9.2 per cent for the week of April 7 to 13, down from 10.7 per cent the week before.