The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has released more detailed COVID-19 case information on a community level within municipalities, something the City of Delta had been requesting since the start of the pandemic last year.
The BCCDC, on the COVID-19 section of its website, is now providing spread sheets and colourful maps - http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#CHSA – which shows high transmission areas, weekly positivity rates and other data.
The information can be viewed by clicking on the new CHSA maps: COVID-19 case rate, testing and vaccination coverage link and also the new weekly data summary link where viewers can download spread sheet data.
A colour coded map of hot spots indicates that numbers are down overall in Delta, North Delta remains a hot spot for infections, while Tsawwassen has one of the lowest rates of infections in the Lower Mainland.
The data indicates that North Delta, from May 4 to 10, had an average daily rate, per 100,000, of 33.1, down only 3.4 from the previous week, with a testing positivity rate of 14.9.
Meanwhile, Ladner had an average daily rate of 4.2, per 100,000, down almost 11 from the previous week, and Tsawwassen had an average daily rate of 2.3, per 100,000, down 4.6 from the previous week.
The testing positivity rate was 3.4 per cent for Ladner and 1.1 per cent for Tsawwassen.
North Delta was declared a hot spot where anyone 40 and over could book a vaccine appointment immediately, but recently the eligibility was further lowered to 30 years and over and now again lowered for residents 18 and over.
The North Delta community, at 82 per cent, was behind Ladner (86 per cent) and Tsawwassen (85 per cent) when it came to the percentage of the population 55 and over who have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
North Delta was also behind Ladner and Tsawwassen when it came to the percentage of those 18 and over who received a first dose.
Delta council, on several occasions, has requested more detailed community-specific information from Fraser Health and the BCCDC, stating the information was needed to know where to better direct resources.
“It’s very good…I wish we would have had it from the very beginning. It would have allowed us to make different decisions. We made decisions based on all of Delta, which we were very uncomfortable doing and this data showed we needed an individual breakdown,” said Mayor George Harvie. “Our communities are very distinct. When you look back, we probably would have made different recommendations to council on closures and not having the whole city closed at the same time, just the hot spots and that is what we really missed…the hot spots, but saying that, we can’t look at the past, we have to move forward.”
Harvie noted the city is doing an extensive social media campaign at the request of Fraser Health CEO Dr. Victoria Lee, impressing upon all residents the importance of getting vaccinated.
“It will be a message in two forms – all of Delta because we still have cases in South Delta, but we will have a greater presence in North Delta, again, taking advantage of the data and where I should be spending my time and be spreading more messaging,” he said.
Harvie added Delta had to fight to get a vaccine centre in North Delta and wonders if the city would have had to push for that if the data would have been more readily available.
Latest overall numbers
As far as the latest overall numbers for the City of Delta, the number of people infected with COVID-19 has moved down, according the BCCDC weekly map of municipalities, released Thursday.
Covering the period May 2 to 8, Delta had 169 confirmed cases, which is down from 220 people infected the previous week.
The map also indicates Surrey had 1,409 cases, down from 1,671 cases the previous week, while Richmond had 107 cases, down from 184 cases the previous week, and Vancouver had 652 cases, down from 719 the previous week.
The BCCDC also has monthly cumulative maps for cities and the most recent, covering January 2020 to April 2021, indicates Delta had 4,327 cases. Neighbouring Surrey had 33,146 cases and Richmond had 3,670 cases.
