Number hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. falls slightly in weekly update
The number of people with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals declined slightly over the last week, as health-care facilities struggled to cope with other illnesses, particularly among children.
The latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows 359 test-positive COVID-19 patients in B.C. hospitals as of Thursday. That's down from 369 reported last week on Friday.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C. on Thursdays since the province switched to a "hospital census" model is shown. (CTV)
The hospitalization numbers shown in the graph reflect the number of patients in hospital on Thursday since the province switched to a "hospital census" model in January. Under this model, anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus is included in the hospital count, regardless of whether SARS-CoV-2 is the underlying reason for their hospitalization.
Health officials have estimated that between 40 and 50 per cent of reported hospitalizations are caused by COVID, while the rest are incidental.
Since the province began counting hospitalizations in this way, the total has been as high as 985 and as low as 255, though it hasn't been above 400 since August.
OTHER WEEKLY NUMBERS
The numbers of new cases and new hospital admissions (a separate metric from the hospital census) each also decreased in the BCCDC's latest report, relative to the previous period.
There were 539 new, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 detected in B.C. from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, the most recent full "epidemiological week." That's down from 604 during the preceding epidemiological week.
New hospital admissions also declined slightly during the week ending Dec. 3. There were 140 such admissions during the week, down from 161 initially reported the week before.
Hospital admission numbers are considered incomplete when the BCCDC first releases them. They are typically revised upwards in the following week's report. The 161 new admissions initially reported for the week of Nov. 20 to 26 have since been revised up to 213.
The 140 new admissions reported this week for the period ending Dec. 3 will also be revised upward, but is starting from a lower point than the previous week's total did.
While lab-confirmed case counts aren't subject to this pattern of weekly revision, they do come with a number of caveats.
Specifically, the BCCDC only reports the results of positive PCR tests, and only the first time someone tests positive. A person who had COVID-19 in 2020, when lab-based testing was more widely available, recovered, and then tested positive on a PCR test again this year, would not be included in the weekly case count.
The BCCDC has said it's working to "better quantify" reinfections in its data, but hasn't provided a timetable for doing so.
Similarly, the vast majority of people who have COVID-19 in B.C. are not included in the official count each week, because they do not qualify for PCR tests under the province's current testing strategy.
The independent B.C. COVID-19 Modelling Group estimates that case counts are off by roughly 100-fold, meaning the 539 new, lab-confirmed cases during the week of Nov. 27 to Dec. 3 equate to approximately 53,900, or about 7,700 per day.
COVID VACCINATION SLOWING DOWN AMID FLU 'BLITZ'
While hospitalization data shows that COVID-19 remains a steady presence in B.C.'s health-care system, the disease has featured less prominently in public statements from B.C. health officials in recent weeks, with the focus shifting to the spread of influenza among children.
This flu season has already had some alarming consequences in B.C. Earlier this week, CTV News confirmed six children had died of influenza over a two-week period.
Typically, there are only five or six child deaths from influenza recorded annually across the entire country.
Respiratory illness among children, generally, has strained hospitals for weeks, with doctors at Surrey Memorial Hospital reporting that they've been seeing quadruple the number of patients for which their pediatric emergency department was designed.
Over the weekend, BC Children's Hospital was briefly under a "code orange," a designation typically reserved for natural disasters and mass casualty events.
Against this backdrop, health officials announced a "vaccine blitz" earlier this week. They are reaching out to parents of children under age five to encourage them to get their children vaccinated against influenza, and have expanded walk-in hours at vaccine clinics around the province.
Vaccination efforts against COVID-19, meanwhile, appear to be slowing down. The province administered a total of 79,646 new doses of COVID vaccines during the week that ended Dec. 3, the lowest weekly total since bivalent vaccines became widely available in September.
Most of those doses are classified on the BCCDC COVID-19 dashboard as either fourth (32,909) or fifth doses (23,401), meaning the recipients had already received at least one booster shot after their initial course of vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.