Active COVID-19 cases in Delta fell to a 33-week low 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 only two cases for the week of July 11 to 17, down five from the week before.
Last week’s total marked the fewest active cases in the city since the BC CDC began releasing LHA-level data on Dec. 5, 2020.
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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region decreased by 34 cases compared to the week before, when the case total climbed by 40 — the first increase in cases in nearly three months. Six of the 13 local health areas in the region saw decreases from the previous week, five saw increases and two saw no change.
The most notable decreases were in Surrey (24 cases, down 26 from the week before) and Abbotsford (three cases, down 16). Burnaby, meanwhile, saw a 13-case spike last week, for a total of 27. Langley held steady at 12 cases, while Hope maintained its zero case count for a second straight week.
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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Tuesday shows Delta had an overall daily average of no new cases per 100,000 people for the week of July 13 to 19, down from one the week before.
Broken down by community health service areas (CHSAs), that’s zero cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (down from one), none in Ladner (consistent with the previous five weeks) and one in Tsawwassen (up from none the week before). The CHSA of Tsawwassen is comprised of both the Delta community and the Tsawwassen First Nation.
Delta’s total case count represented one per cent of all cases reported 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 July 19 was one per cent, up from zero the week before, but the rates varied slightly between Delta’s three CHSAs.
North Delta and Ladner both had rates of zero per cent, unchanged form the week before, while Tsawwassen had a rate of two per cent, up one per cent from the week before.
Positivity rates were similar when looking only at public tests — one per cent for Delta as a whole and zero per cent for North Delta and Ladner (unchanged from the week before), and three per cent in Tsawwassen (up one per cent from the week before).
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The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age: 12+, 18+, 18-49 and 50+.
As of July 19, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 87 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. Broken down by CHSA, that’s 86 per cent in North Delta (up one per cent from the week before), 88 per cent in Ladner (unchanged from the week before) and 87 per cent in Tsawwassen (up one per cent from the week before).
Limited to adults 18 and over, those rates were 87 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged from the week before), 87 for North Delta (up from 86), 89 for Ladner (up from 88) and 88 for Tsawwassen (up from 87). However, vaccine uptake was markedly different between those 18-49 and those 50 and over.
For adults 50 and over, vaccine coverage in Delta was 91 per cent (unchanged from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 91 per cent in North Delta (up from 90), 92 in Ladner (unchanged) and 91 in Tsawwassen (unchanged).
For those aged 18-49 (a category only made available via the dashboard for the past few weeks), vaccine coverage was markedly lower — 84 per cent for Delta overall (up from 82), 84 for North Delta (up from 82), 85 for Ladner (up from 84) and 82 for Tsawwassen (up from 81).
After Delta, the other LHAs in the region with the highest vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over are New Westminster and Surrey with 84 per cent (unchanged from the week before and up one per cent, respectively) followed by South Surrey/White Rock, Burnaby and Tri-Cities with 83 per cent (up one per cent).
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On July 2, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area through to the end of June. The map shows there were a total of 4,907 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to June 30, meaning there were only 92 new cases last month, compared to 488 in May, 990 in April and 614 in March.
The map also shows there were 529 new cases in Surrey, compared to 4,012 in May, 7,043 in April and 4,406 in March, and 1,636 new cases across the Fraser Health region, compared to 8,913 in May, 17,086 in April and 10,554 in March. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 563 new cases in June, compared to 2,833 in May, 7,497 in April and 5,726 in March.
As of Thursday (July 22), there were no outbreaks at any Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities, no public exposure notifications, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.
Meanwhile, 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: Rare ‘breakthrough’ COVID cases are causing alarm, confusion in U.S. (July 21, 2021)
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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