New COVID-19 infections continue to rack up in B.C., but at a slightly lower pace than last week, as health officials detected 1,986 new cases in the past three days.
That is an average of 662 cases per day in each of the past three days. In the previous seven days, the average number of new infections detected in B.C. was slightly more than 738 per day.
That slowed pace of new infections means that there are now 5,986 people actively battling COVID-19 infections in B.C., which is 331 fewer than three days ago.
Almost 95.6%, or 181,304 of the 189,680 people known to have contracted COVID-19 in B.C. are deemed by the province to have recovered because they have gone 10 days after first feeling symptoms, and are therefore not thought to be infectious.
Of those infected, 326 are sick enough to be in hospital, and 142 of those requiring help in intensive care units (ICUs).
The vast majority of those infected have been told to self-isolate at home.
The province's way of counting COVID-19 patients in hospitals only includes those who have not yet gone 10 days since first exhibiting symptoms. Last week, there were "around 140" additional people in B.C. hospitals who have gone longer than 10 days since noticing symptoms, or who entered hospital for a different reason and then caught COVID-19 while there.
Another 10 individuals lost their lives to COVID-19 in the past three days, raising B.C.'s pandemic death toll to 1,983.
Ages of those who died was not immediately available.
The deaths included:
• five in Fraser Health;
• two in Vancouver Coastal Health;
• one in Interior Health; and
• two in Northern Health.
Unvaccinated people continue to be largely responsible for much of the disease's spread.
Health Minister Adrian Dix tweeted late in the afternoon that 120 of those 142 people in ICU are unvaccinated, while nine were partially vaccinated, and 13 were fully vaccinated.
Between September 24 and September 30, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 71.5% of new cases, according to the province. Between September 17 and September 30, those individuals accounted for 81.4% of hospitalizations, according to the province.
These statistics underscore that while the vast majority of the population in B.C. is fully vaccinated, the vast majority of those getting infected and sick are not fully vaccinated.
New vaccinations continue to crawl along at a sluggish pace, compared to a few months ago, largely because the vast majority of British Columbians have already received their needed two doses.
Health officials provided 30,268 doses of vaccine to British Columbians in the past three days, with 9,308 of those being to unvaccinated individuals, and 20,960 going to those needing second doses. No data was available for any third doses, which have started to be administered to those who are considered extremely vulnerable, and immunocompromised.
Of the 4,089,226 B.C. residents who have received one dose of vaccine since mid-December, 2020, nearly 92.5%, or 3,782,008, are fully vaccinated, with two doses.
Across B.C., 88.2% of eligible adults older than 12 have had at least one dose of vaccine, with 81.6% of those eligible people having had two doses, according to the B.C. government.
The B.C. government estimated in July that the province's total population is 5,147,712, so Glacier Media's calculation is that 79.4% of B.C.'s total population has had at least one dose of vaccine, and 73.4% of the province's total population has had two doses.
Northern Health remains the province's hot spot for new and active infections.
Glacier Media's math broke down the 1,986 new infections by health region, for each 10,000 residents (with total new cases in brackets):
• 4.3 in Fraser Health (782);
• 1.8 in Vancouver Coastal Health (226);
• 5.6 in Interior Health (416);
• 11.5 in Northern Health (346); and
• 2.6 in Island Health (218).
There were no known new infections in people who normally do not reside in B.C.
The result by health region, for the 5,986 people fighting active infections, for each 10,000 residents (with total new cases in brackets) is:
• 13 in Fraser Health (2,333);
• 6.9 in Vancouver Coastal Health (859);
• 15.3 in Interior Health (1,132);
• 32.2 in Northern Health (965); and
• 7.5 in Island Health (640).
There are 57 active infections in the province in people who normally reside outside B.C.
Two new health-care facility outbreaks at Manoah Manor in Langley Township, and Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre in Delta.
In total, the province has 20 active outbreaks at seniors' homes. •
