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Active COVID-19 cases in Delta climb again after falling for three weeks

43 cases the week ending Sept. 25; 12 of 13 Fraser Health local health areas see rise in cases
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This map illustrates the number of active COVID-19 cases in Greater Vancouver from Sept. 19 to 25, 2021. (BC Centre for Disease Control image)

Active COVID-19 cases in Delta went up again last week after falling the three weeks previous.

The latest weekly map released by the BC Centre for Disease Control showing the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases by local health area (LHA) of residence shows Delta had 43 cases for the week of Sept. 19 to 25, seven more than the week before. Previously cases in the city had been decreasing for three weeks after hitting a high of 81 the week ending Aug. 28 — the most cases since the week ending May 29.

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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region also jumped last week, — 1,791 compared to 1,472 the week before, when cases dipped slightly for the first time since the week ending July 17.

Overall case numbers in the region have been rising for 10 of the past 12 weeks after nearly three months of falling COVID numbers. As well, last week was the sixth week in a row of 1,000+ cases. Before that, cases hadn’t topped 1,000 since the week ending May 29.

All but one of the 13 local health areas (LHAs) in the region saw increases from the previous week. The biggest spike was in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows, which saw cases jump from 69 to 202 — a gain of 133. Other LHAs with notable increases were Surrey (344, up 53 from the previous week), Abbotsford (228, up 33), Chilliwack (245, up 30) and South Surrey/White Rock (77, up 21).

Only Agassiz-Harrison saw a decrease in cases last week — 16, down from 34.

THE LATEST: B.C.’s COVID-19 infections, hospital cases rise again Wednesday (Sept. 29, 2021)

SEE ALSO: B.C. COVID-19 cases rising quickly in younger school-aged children (Sept. 28, 2021)

Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Tuesday shows Delta had an overall daily average of seven new cases per 100,000 people for the week of Sept. 27, up from four the week before.

Broken down by community health service areas (CHSAs), that’s a rate of eight cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (up from four the week before), nine in Ladner (up from six) and four in Tsawwassen (unchanged). The CHSA of Tsawwassen is comprised of both the Delta community and the Tsawwassen First Nation.

Delta’s total case count over that time frame represented one per cent of cases in B.C. that week, unchanged from the week before. Delta is home to two per cent of the province’s population.

The overall test positivity rate in Delta for the week ending Sept. 27 was three per cent, up from two the week before, but the rates varied somewhat between Delta’s three CHSAs.

North Delta had a rate of three per cent, up from two per cent from the week prior. Ladner and Tsawwassen’s rates were unchanged form the week before, three per cent and two per cent, respectively.

Positivity rates were higher when looking only at public tests — four per cent for Delta as a whole (up from three), four per cent for North Delta (up from three), four per cent for Ladner (unchanged) and three per cent for Tsawwassen (up from two).

SEE ALSO: New COVID restrictions imposed on eastern Fraser Valley to encourage vaccination (Sept. 28, 2021)

The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age (12+, 12-17, 18+, 18-49 and 50+) and by whether people have received their first or second dose.

As of Sept. 27, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 93 per cent of adults aged 12 and over having received at least their first does of vaccine, up one per cent from the week before. As well, 87 per cent of residents 12 and over have received their second dose as well, up one per cent from the week before.

Broken down by CHSA, that’s 93 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (up one per cent from the week before), 94 per cent in Ladner (up one per cent), and 92 per cent in Tsawwassen (up one per cent). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 87 per cent in North Delta (up three per cent), 88 per cent in Ladner (unchanged) and 87 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged).

Limited to adults 18 and over, first dose rates were 93 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent from the week before), 93 for North Delta (up one per cent), 94 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 92 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 87 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 86 for North Delta (up one per cent), 89 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 88 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).

The dashboard also includes vaccine coverage for kids aged 12-17. First dose rates for that age range as of Sept. 27 were 90 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 89 for North Delta (up one per cent), 92 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 90 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 81 per cent for Delta as a whole (up two per cent), 79 for North Delta (up two per cent), 84 for Ladner (up two per cent) and 82 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).

First dose rates were nearly the same for those 18-49 and those 50 and over, though second dose rates were markedly different between the two groups.

For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 94 per cent (up one per cent from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 93 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 94 in Ladner (unchanged) and 94 in Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 91 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 90 for North Delta (up one per cent), 92 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 91 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).

For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was 92 per cent for Delta overall (unchanged), 93 for North Delta (up one per cent), 93 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 89 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were lower — 83 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 83 for North Delta (up one per cent), 85 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 82 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).

After Delta, the Fraser Health LHA with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over was Surrey with 92 per cent (up one per cent). The next highest were Burnaby and New Westminster with (91, both up one per cent), followed by Tri-Cities (89, unchanged), and South Surrey/White Rock (88, unchanged).

SEE ALSO: COVID-19 vaccine protection holds after 4 months, B.C. doctors say (Sept. 29, 2021)

On Sept. 8, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area through to the end of August. The map shows there were a total of 5,156 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to Aug. 31, meaning there were 223 new cases last month, compared to 26 in July, 92 in June, 488 in May, 990 in April and 614 in March.

The map also shows there were 980 new cases in Surrey in August, compared to 189 in July, 529 in June, 4,012 in May, 7,043 in April and 4,406 in March.

For the Fraser Health region as a whole, there were 4,478 new cases of COVID-19 in August, compared to 771 in July, 1,636 in June, 8,913 in May, 17,086 in April and 10,554 in March. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 2,787 new cases in August, compared to 424 in July, compared to 563 in June, 2,833 in May, 7,497 in April and 5,726 in March.

As of Thursday morning (Sept. 30), there was no outbreaks at any Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities.

On Sept. 24, Fraser Health declared the outbreak at Northcrest Care Centre in North Delta was over. The last update provided (Sept. 21) showed there was a total of seven cases at the facility — four residents and three staff — and one resident had died during the three-week outbreak.

READ MORE: COVID outbreak over at Chilliwack hospital and Delta care home, says Fraser Health (Sept. 25, 2021)

Meanwhile, there were no public exposure notifications in the city, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.

As of Thursday, Fraser Health’s website listed exposures at three Delta schools: Delta Secondary (Sept. 21 and 22), Jarvis Traditional Elementary (Sept. 20 and 21) and McClosky Elementary (Sept. 15, 17, 20 and 21).

Fraser Health defines exposure as “a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.” Two or more individuals is defined as a cluster, while an outbreak describes a situation involving “multiple individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infections when transmission is likely widespread within the school setting.”

RELATED: B.C. resumes online posting of COVID ‘potential exposure events’ in schools (Sept. 28, 2021)

SEE ALSO: B.C. parents, teachers, unions call on school districts to announce mask mandates (Sept. 30, 2021)

SEE ALSO: Surrey school board mandates masks for all grades (Sept. 29, 2021)



editor@northdeltareporter.com

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James Smith

About the Author: James Smith

James Smith is the founding editor of the North Delta Reporter.
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