COVID-19 cases in Delta fell again 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 50 cases the week of Feb. 20 to 26, 36 fewer than the week before.
Cases in the city hit an all-time high of 769 the week ending Jan. 1 as the Omicron variant surged across the region.
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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region also fell last week — 685, down from 1,032. Eight weeks prior, case totals hit an all-time high of 11,314, more than double the 5,285 cases identified the week ending Dec. 25.
Twelve of the region’s 13 LHAs saw decreases from the previous week, with the biggest drops in Surrey (171, down 66) and Tri-Cities (59, down 55). Agassiz-Harrison held steady last week at eight cases, the same as the week before.
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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard shows Delta had an overall daily average of five new cases per 100,000 people for the week ending Feb. 28, down from 10 the week before, representing 82 cases, two more than the week prior.
Broken down by community health service area (CHSA), that’s a rate of four cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (unchanged from the week ending Feb. 21, representing 16 cases), five in Ladner (down from 13 the week ending Feb. 21, representing nine cases) and nine in Tsawwassen (down from 20 the week ending Feb. 21, representing 16 cases). The CHSA of Tsawwassen is comprised of both the Delta community and the Tsawwassen First Nation.
The positivity rate in Delta based on public tests performed the week of Feb. 28 was 32 per cent, down from 54 the week before. Broken down by CHSA, rates were 16 per cent in North Delta (up from 14 the week before), 12 per cent in Ladner (down from 35) and 20 per cent in Tsawwassen (down from 41).
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The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age (5+, 5-11, 12-17, 18+, 18-49, 50+ and 70+) and by whether people have received one, two or three doses.
As of Feb. 14, dose rates for the age category 12+ were replaced by rates for ages 5+. Under that new age category, 94 per cent of people had received at least their first does of vaccine as of Feb. 28, unchanged from the week before, while 90 per cent of residents had received their second dose, also unchanged. Fifty-five per cent of residents five and over had received their third dose of vaccine, up one per cent from the week before.
Broken down by CHSA, that’s 94 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (unchanged), 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 (up one per cent) and 90 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Third dose rates by CHSA were not available.
First dose rates were slightly higher when limited to adults 18 and over: 97 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged from the week before), 97 for North Delta (unchanged), 97 for Ladner (unchanged) and 95 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 95 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 95 for North Delta (unchanged), 95 for Ladner (unchanged) and 94 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Sixty-two per cent of Deltans 18 and over had received a third dose of vaccine, up one per cent. Third dose rates by CHSA were not available.
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For kids aged 12-17, first dose rates as of Feb. 28 were 97 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 96 for North Delta (unchanged), 100 for Ladner (unchanged) and 95 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 94 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 93 for North Delta (unchanged), 99 for Ladner (unchanged) and 92 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Thirty-four per cent of Deltans 12-17 years old had received a third dose of vaccine, up three per cent. Third dose rates by CHSA were not available.
The dashboard also shows first dose coverage among kids ages 5-11. Delta as a whole stood at 64 per cent (unchanged), North Delta at 59 (up one per cent), Ladner at 72 (unchanged) and Tsawwassen at 70 (unchanged). Thirty-two per cent of kids ages 5-11 had received a second dose of vaccine, up four per cent. Second dose rates by CHSA were not available.
First dose rates for those 18-49 and those 50 and over were nearly the same and in line with other age categories.
For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 96 per cent (unchanged from the week before). First dose rates by CHSA were not available. Second dose rates were 94 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 94 for North Delta (unchanged), 95 for Ladner (unchanged) and 94 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).
Seventy-six per cent of those 50 and over had received a third dose of vaccine, unchanged from the week before. Broken down by CHSA, that’s 72 per cent in North Delta, 81 per cent in Ladner, and 81 per cent in Tsawwassen. (Third dose rates by CHSA for those 50+ are new this week, so there is no previous data to compare them to.)
For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was 98 per cent for Delta overall (unchanged), 99 for North Delta (unchanged), 98 for Ladner (unchanged) and 94 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were lower — 96 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 97 for North Delta (unchanged), 96 for Ladner (unchanged) and 92 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Forty-six per cent of adults 18-49 had received a third dose of vaccine, up one per cent. Third dose rates by CHSA were not available.
The dashboard also includes third dose coverage for those 70 and over, and the overall rate for Delta the week of Feb. 28was 84 per cent, unchanged from the week before. Broken down by CHSA, that’s 79 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 87 per cent in Ladner (unchanged) and 88 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged).
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Burnaby led other Fraser Health LHAs when it comes to first dose vaccine coverage for residents aged five and over with a rate of 95 per cent, unchanged from the week before. The next highest were Delta, New Westminster and Surrey with 94 per cent (unchanged for Delta and New West, up half a per cent in Surrey), followed by Tri-Cities with 92 per cent (unchanged) and South Surrey/White Rock with 90 per cent (unchanged).
When it came to second dose rates, Burnaby and New West led the way with 91 per cent (unchanged for Burnaby, up one per cent for New West), followed by Delta with 90 per cent (unchanged), Surrey and Tri-Cities with 88 per cent (unchanged for Surrey, up one per cent for Tri-Cities) and South Surrey/White Rock with 86 per cent (unchanged).
In terms of third dose rates, New Westminster led the way with 58 per cent (up one per cent), followed by South Surrey/White Rock with 57 per cent (up one per cent), Burnaby with 56 per cent (up two per cent), Delta and Tri-Cities with 55 per cent (up one per cent for both), and Surrey with 44 per cent (up one per cent).
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On March 2, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area from January, 2020 through to the end of February, 2022. The map shows there were a total of 8,674 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to Feb. 28, meaning there were 402 new cases last month, compared to 1,335 in January, 1,297 in December, 81 in November, 210 in October, 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 1,550 new cases in Surrey in February, compared to 8,089 in January, 4,027 in December, 776 in November, 1,462 in October, 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 5,539 new cases of COVID-19 in February, compared to 23,899 in January, 17,579 in December, 4,263 in November, 7,478 in October, 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 2,895 new cases in February, compared to 12,115 in January, 10,562 in December, 1,501 in November, 1,977 in October, 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.
An outbreak at Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre has been the only outbreak at a Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facility, however as of Thursday morning (March 3) it was no longer listed on Fraser Health’s website. As of 1 p.m., the health authority had not yet put out a press release or statement officially declaring the outbreak over.
A weekly report from B.C.’s Health Ministry published last Wednesday shows that as of Feb. 22 there were 56 cases associated with the outbreak (47 residents and nine staff), seven more than the week before, and no deaths.
Fraser Health no longer issues notices for COVID exposures in schools, owing to the way the Omicron variant rapidly spreads, making contact tracing less effective and preventing public health officials from being able to contact everyone who tests positive.
“Public Health will continue to work with schools if, for example, there is a significant decrease in attendance that is atypical for the time of year, and actions are to be taken, such as notification to the parents and guardians of the affected grade or school community. In the event of a declared outbreak, Public Health will issue a public notification,” according to Fraser Health’s website.
As of Feb. 28, Fraser Health’s website listed no outbreaks at any schools — in Delta or otherwise.
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editor@northdeltareporter.com
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