COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations up slightly in Interior

Cases of COVID-19 infections rose slightly in the Interior on a weekly basis.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) reported in the week of Nov. 5 – 11 there were 126 COVID-19 infections confirmed in the Interior.

That was up from 125 the week prior.

The weekly report released Thursday, Nov. 16, also noted there were 23 hospital admissions in the Interior due to the virus, up from 13 the week prior.

Of those hospitalizations, only one patient was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), down from the three ICU patients the week prior.

There were also eight deaths linked to COVID recorded in the Interior, which was down from 11 during the week of Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.

As of Thursday, there were 37 patients in hospital with COVID in the Interior, three of whom were in ICU.

While the BCCDC’s stats for the Interior mostly rose, figures from throughout the province trended in the other direction.

B.C. as a whole had 475 confirmed cases of COVID, 146 hospital admissions, including 21 ICU patients, and 26 deaths linked to the virus between Nov. 5 and 11.

The cases, hospitalizations and deaths were all down from the week prior when the figures were 540 cases,177 hospital admissions and 43 deaths. However, the number of ICU patients did rise from 17 the previous week.

In the most recent week, the Interior had the highest death toll due to COVID-19, ahead of the seven in the Vancouver Coastal and six in the Fraser Health areas.

The Interior also had the second highest weekly case total behind Fraser Health’s 146, and the third highest hospital admission total after Fraser Health’s 56 and 32 in the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

The Interior did however have the lowest ICU admission in the most recent week. Fraser Health had nine, Vancouver Coastal health had seven, and Vancouver Island Health Authority and Northern Health each had two.

The BCCDC did not provide data on Influenza illness for the Interior or the province as a whole.

However, the centre said Influenza A is behind a rise in flu activity, accounting for 96 per cent of tested cases this season, while positive test rates for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are also up, particularly among children.

However, it said emergency department visits due to all respiratory diseases remain comparable to or below historical averages.