Will Delta variant upset B.C.'s progress? Health officials say province in better situation than U.K.
Health officials are watching the Delta COVID-19 variant spreading in B.C. communities with concern, but could it threaten to upend the province's reopening plans?
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked about the variant, also known as B.1.617.2, on Monday after U.K. officials blamed the mutation for their decision to extend lockdown measures by another month.
A new study out of Scotland also found the Delta variant doubles the risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant B.1.1.7, though the same research found vaccines provide strong protection against both.
Henry noted that B.C. has resumed the process of conducting whole genome sequencing on every case of COVID-19 to better monitor the spread of variants, and that the province's circumstances are different from those in the U.K.
"We have increased the level of protection from immunization across the board, so we are in a bit of a different place from the U.K.," she said. "A lot of transmission that they're seeing right now in the U.K. is in people in their teens and 20s and 30s. We have very high immunization rates in those age groups already."
The latest COVID-19 data summary posted last week by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows the province has partially vaccinated more than 30 per cent of residents who are between the ages of 12 and 19. More than half of British Columbians in their 20s and more than 60 per cent of those in their 30s have also received at least one dose.
In total, the province has provided first doses to about 76 per cent of adults as of Monday.
While the highly contagious Delta variant is poised to become the dominant strain in Ontario, Henry also noted that B.C. has not seen it "taking off" compared to any of the other mutations.
The BCCDC's latest variants of concern report shows only about seven per cent of COVID-19 cases sampled during the week ending on June 5 involved B.1.617.2. That's compared to 35 per cent of the B.1.17 variant and 36 per cent of the P.1, or Gamma variant.
"Obviously this is something we'll be watching carefully in the data in the next few weeks," Henry added.
Health officials are relaxing several more restrictions as B.C. enters the second stage of its restart plan on Tuesday, allowing residents to travel recreationally across the province and hold outdoor gatherings in groups of up to 50 people.
The third step is tentatively scheduled to begin on July 1, but Henry said that will depend on what impact the looser rules have on case numbers during the next two-week incubation period.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.