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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Eating disorders among youth skyrocketed during pandemic and so did associated costs, report finds
The number of young people experiencing eating disorders surged during the height of the pandemic as the social and economic costs skyrocketed too, a new pan-Canadian report has found.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.