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Nearly 50 per cent fewer COVID-19 cases in Delta last week

30 new cases for the week ending Oct. 30; total of 210 new cases in Delta last month
27003953_web1_211104-NDR-M-Active-cases-by-LHA-Oct-24-to-30
This map illustrates the number of active COVID-19 cases in Greater Vancouver from Oct. 24 to 30, 2021. (BC Centre for Disease Control image)

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delta dropped by nearly 50 per cent last week.

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 30 cases for the week of Oct. 24 to 30, 26 fewer than the 56 cases the week before.

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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region decreased by 69 last week — 1,661 compared to 1,730 the week before — making it the eleventh week in a row of 1,000+ cases. Before that, cases hadn’t topped 1,000 since the week ending May 29.

Only four of the 13 local health areas (LHAs) in the region saw increases from the previous week: Abbotsford (385, up 84 from the week before), Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows (165, up 58), Mission (66, up 12) and Agassiz/Harrison (14, up 8).

The largest decreases in cases were seen in Langley (173, down 54), Burnaby (82, down 37), Chilliwack (202, down 34), Delta (30, down 26) Surrey (332, down 25) and New Westminster (33, down 24).

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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Tuesday shows Delta had an overall daily average of three new cases per 100,000 people for the week of Nov. 1, down from seven the week before.

Broken down by community health service areas (CHSAs), that’s a rate of three cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (down from eight the week before), four in Ladner (down from six) and two in Tsawwassen (down from five). 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 Nov. 1 was two per cent, down from three per cent the week before, but the rates varied somewhat between Delta’s three CHSAs.

North Delta’s rate was two per cent, down from three the week prior, while Ladner and Tsawwassen’s rates were both one per cent (down from two).

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

SEE ALSO: B.C. nurses who spread COVID misinformation to patients will face penalties: college (Nov. 3, 2021)

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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 Nov. 1, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 94 per cent of adults aged 12 and over having received at least their first does of vaccine, unchanged for the last several weeks. Delta also led in second doses among residents 12 and over — 91 per cent, up one per cent from the week before.

Broken down by CHSA, that’s 95 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (up one per cent from the week before), 95 per cent in Ladner (unchanged), and 93 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 90 per cent in North Delta (up one per cent), 92 per cent in Ladner (unchanged) and 90 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged).

First dose rates were virtually identical when limited to adults 18 and over: 95 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent from the week before), 95 for North Delta (unchanged), 95 for Ladner (unchanged) and 93 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were also similar: 91 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 91 for North Delta (up one per cent), 92 for Ladner (unchanged) and 91 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).

For kids aged 12-17, first dose rates as of Nov. 1 were 93 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 92 for North Delta (unchanged), 98 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 92 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 88 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 86 for North Delta (up one per cent), 93 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 87 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).

RELATED: FDA approval of kids’ COVID-19 vaccine to be considered in Health Canada decision (Oct. 30, 2021)

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First dose rates were nearly the same for those 18-49 and those 50 and over, and the groups’ second dose rates are growing closer every week.

For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 94 per cent (unchanged from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 94 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 95 in Ladner (unchanged) and 94 in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 92 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 92 for North Delta (up one per cent), 93 for Ladner (unchanged) and 93 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).

For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was 95 per cent for Delta overall (unchanged), 96 for North Delta (up one per cent), 95 for Ladner (unchanged) and 91 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were lower — 90 per cent for Delta as a whole (up two per cent), 90 for North Delta (up one per cent), 90 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 87 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).

Other than Delta, the Fraser Health LHA with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over was Surrey with 94 per cent (unchanged from the week before). The next highest were Burnaby and New Westminster with 93, (both unchanged), followed by Tri-Cities (91, unchanged) and South Surrey/White Rock (90, unchanged).

Rankings were virtually the same when it came to second dose rates: Surrey, Burnaby and New Westminster were all at 89 per cent (up one per cent from the week before), followed by Tri-Cities (88 per cent, up one) and South Surrey/White Rock (87 per cent, up one).

RELATED: Vaccination rates in Surrey hit 88.8% for those aged 12 and up (Nov. 4, 2021)

SEE ALSO: Unvaccinated B.C. public service staff to be placed on unpaid leave as of Nov. 22 (Nov. 1, 2021)

On Nov. 3, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area through to the end of October. The map shows there were a total of 5,559 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to Oct. 31, meaning there were 210 new cases last month, compared to 193 in September, 223 in August, 26 in July, 92 in June, 488 in May, 990 in April and 614 in March.

The map also shows there were 1,462 new cases in Surrey in October, compared to 1,357 in September, 980 in August, 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 7,478 new cases of COVID-19 in October, compared to 6,792 in September, 4,478 in August, 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 1,977 new cases in October, compared to 2,696 in September, 2,787 in August, 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 (Oct. 28), there were no outbreaks at any Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities, there were no public exposure notifications in the city, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.

Also as of Thursday, Fraser Health’s website listed exposures at two Delta schools: Richardson Elementary (Oct. 26 and 27) and Delta Continuing Education (Oct. 25).

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: Surrey school board decides against mandating COVID-19 vaccines for staff (Nov. 2, 2021)

SEE ALSO: Travellers can now use B.C. service to get federal vaccine passport (Oct. 29, 2021)

SEE ALSO: Canadian tourism group urges feds to axe ‘irrational’ border-crossing requirements (Nov. 4, 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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