Interior’s COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations decline, data provided for other illnesses

The Interior has seen instances of COVID-19 decline on a week over week basis.

The weekly report from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) confirmed a total of 97 cases of COVID-19 in the Interior between January 8 and 14. That was down from the previous week’s total of 168 cases in the region.

The BCCDC report stated there were 14 people admitted to Interior hospitals who tested positive with COVID-19, including three who were admitted to critical care. The week prior saw a total of 30 hospitalizations, four of which were people admitted to critical care.

The report had a preliminary count of 10 deaths linked to the virus in the Interior. The BCCDC confirmed a total of 10 deaths in the Interior the week before.

As of Thursday, Jan. 19, there were 35 COVID-positive patients in hospital in the Interior, three of whom were in critical care.

The centre reported a total of 560 COVID-19 cases, 142 hospitalizations and a preliminary count of 27 deaths across all of B.C.

The previous week saw 661 cases, 195 hospital admissions and 42 deaths confirmed throughout the province.

The BCCDC reports a total of 394,366 confirmed cases throughout B.C., 70,595 of which were identified in the Interior.

A total of 5,007 British Columbians have died due to the virus, 815 of whom were Interior residents.

The BCCDC did not provide stats for specific health areas.

Respiratory Illnesses

The BCCDC is also providing data from the Interior on other respiratory illnesses.

In the latest reporting week of January 8 to 14, the centre confirmed 10 cases of Influenza A, 163 cases of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), 10 ERV cases (entero/rhinovirus), and 32 classified as “other” respiratory illnesses cases.

The BCCDC reports a total of 2,123 influenza A cases, five influenza B cases, 842 RSV cases, 208 cases of ERV and 278 “other” cases have been confirmed by lab testing in the Interior since data collection began on September 4, 2022.