These are the B.C. regions that had the most COVID-19 cases last week

Vancouver -

With British Columbia averaging about 500 new cases of COVID-19 per day and 3,500 per week, the latest data from the province's COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard shows which parts of B.C. are seeing the most coronavirus transmission. 

The local health area that saw the largest number of cases from Nov. 2 through 8 was Abbotsford, which added 267 new infections during the period.

The local health area that makes up most of the City of Surrey had the week's second-highest caseload, recording 227.

The Central Okanagan region had the highest total for the week in Interior Health, at 191, while Nanaimo - at 137 - recorded the highest total on Vancouver Island.

In Northern Health, the Prince George local health area saw 119 new cases, and Vancouver City Centre led the way for Vancouver Coastal Health with 63.

Those numbers only tell part of the story, however. Looking at the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents offers a different perspective on how much coronavirus transmission is happening in a region.

By this metric, Abbotsford retains the highest caseload in Fraser Health, but falls significantly behind other regions of the province for per-capita cases.

Abbotsford recorded 23 cases per 100,000 residents from Nov. 2 through 8, and Surrey, with its large population, recorded just six.

The highest per-capita case rate in the province during the week in question was found in the sparsely populated Vancouver Island West local health area, which saw 68 cases per 100,000 residents.

In Northern Health, the Nisga'a region had the highest per-capita caseload, at 52 per 100,000. Several other local health areas were close behind, however, with Terrace recording 50 cases per 100,000, Quesnel recording 49 and Snow Country/Stikine/Telegraph Creek recording 48.

The highest case rate in Interior Health was 38 per 100,000 in Cariboo/Chilcotin, and in Vancouver Coastal Health the highest rate was 26 per 100,000 in the Central Coast local health area.

Notably, despite their high rates of COVID-19 transmission, many of these local health areas are trending in the right direction.

Both Abbotsford and Surrey saw their per-capita case rates decline slightly last week, compared to the week before, and the rate in the Nisga'a local health area dropped dramatically, from 178 during the previous week.

Vancouver Island West's rate for the week was down from 108 cases per 100,000 the week before, and Central Coast's declined from 78.

Cariboo/Chilcotin saw its rate rise slightly, from 34 during the previous week, and several regions in Northern Health - including the aforementioned Terrace, Quesnel and Snow Country/Stikine/Telegraph Creek local health areas - saw increases in the per-capita case rates.

The local health area with the largest increase in per-capita cases from week to week was Vancouver Island North, which went from just five cases per 100,000 residents during the week of Oct. 26 to Nov. 1 to 44 cases per 100,000 during the week of Nov. 2 to 8.

Most of the people testing positive in B.C. are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The unvaccinated made up 58.2 per cent of new cases in the province between Nov. 1 and 7, despite accounting for less than 20 per cent of the total population of the province, including children under age 12, who are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. 

According to the surveillance dashboard, the province saw 139.5 cases per 10,000 residents among unvaccinated people between Oct. 12 and Nov. 8, compared to 34.9 cases per 10,000 among those with one dose of vaccine and 14.2 per 10,000 among those with both doses.