Active COVID-19 cases in Delta are down for the second week in a row.
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 44 cases for the week of Sept. 4 to 11, a drop of 11 from the week before. It’s the second straight week that numbers have declined in the city after hitting a high of 81 cases 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 increased by only 20 the week ending Sept. 11 (for a total of 1,530), compared to a gain of 251 the week before.
Last week was the ninth time in ten weeks that case totals have increased after nearly three months of falling COVID numbers. It was also the fourth week in a row of 1,000+ cases, a mark not hit since the week ending May 29.
Seven of the 13 local health areas (LHAs) in the region saw increases from the previous week, most notably in Chilliwack (166, up 41 from the previous week). Other LHAs with significant increases were Surrey (350, up 39) and Burnaby (177, up 27).
Other LHAs to see a decrease last week were Tri-Cities (165, down 31), Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows (88, down 20), Abbotsford (158, down 17), New Westminster (50, down 16) and Hope (12, down 13).
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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Tuesday shows Delta had an overall daily average of six new cases per 100,000 people for the week of Sept. 7 to 13, unchanged from 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 (unchanged from the week before), three in Ladner (up from two) and five in Tsawwassen (up from four). 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 Aug. 23 was three per cent, unchanged from the week before, but the rates varied somewhat between Delta’s three CHSAs.
North Delta had a rate of four per cent (down from five the week prior) while Ladner had a rate of two per cent (unchanged) and Tsawwassen had a rate of three per cent (up from two).
Positivity rates were higher when looking only at public tests — five per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), five per cent for North Delta (down from seven), three per cent for Ladner (up from two) and four per cent for Tsawwassen (up from three).
SEE ALSO: All health care workers in B.C. must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 26: Henry (Sept. 13, 2021)
SEE ALSO: B.C. nurses’ union ‘cannot support’ COVID vaccine mandate that could mean fewer staff (Sept. 16, 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. 6, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 91 per cent of adults aged 12 and over having received at least their first does of vaccine, unchanged from the week before. As well, 85 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 91 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (unchanged from the week before), 92 per cent in Ladner (unchanged), and 91 per cent in Tsawwassen (up one per cent). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 83 per cent in North Delta (up one per cent), 87 per cent in Ladner (up one per cent) and 86 per cent in Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
Limited to adults 18 and over, first dose rates were 92 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent from the week before), 92 for North Delta (up one per cent), 93 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 91 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 85 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 84 for North Delta (up one per cent), 87 for Ladner (unchanged) and 86 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).
The dashboard also includes vaccine coverage for kids aged 12-17. First dose rates for that age range as of Sept. 13 were 88 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 87 for North Delta (up one per cent), 90 for Ladner (up two per cent) and 88 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 78 per cent for Delta as a whole (up two per cent), 76 for North Delta (up one per cent), 80 for Ladner (up four per cent) and 80 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 93 per cent (unchanged from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 92 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 94 in Ladner (unchanged) and 93 in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 90 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 89 for North Delta (up one per cent), 91 for Ladner (unchanged) and 90 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).
For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was 91 per cent for Delta overall (up two per cent), 91 for North Delta (up one per cent), 91 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 88 for Tsawwassen (up two per cent). Second dose rates were lower — 81 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 80 for North Delta (up one per cent), 83 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 80 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
After Delta, the other LHAs in the Fraser Health region with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over were Surrey with 90 per cent (up one per cent), followed by Burnaby and New Westminster with (89, up one per cent and unchanged, respectively), then Tri-Cities (88, up one per cent), then South Surrey/White Rock (87, up one per cent).
RELATED: Pfizer, Moderna mRNA vaccine get new brand names and full Health Canada approval (Sept. 16, 2021)
SEE ALSO: B.C. to offer 3rd COVID-19 vaccine doses to severely immunocompromised people (Sept. 13, 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. 9), there was one outbreak at a Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities. Fraser Health declared an outbreak at Northcrest Care Centre in North Delta on Sept. 2 after one resident and two staff members in the independently-owned and operated long-term care facility tested positive for COVID-19.
READ MORE: COVID-19 outbreak declared at North Delta long-term care facility (Sept. 2, 2021)
As of Sept. 7, the outbreak was up to five total cases — three residents and two staff.
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 no exposures at any Delta schools.
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.”
SEE ALSO: B.C. COVID-19 vaccine card could help loosen some pandemic restrictions: Henry (Sept. 14, 2021)
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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