Active COVID-19 cases in Delta were down last week as numbers continued to decline across the Fraser Health region.
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 14 cases for the week of Nov. 21 to 27, a drop of nine after holding steady for three straight weeks.
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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region decreased again last week — 782 compared to 953 the week before, the third week in a row numbers fell by just over 170 cases.
All but three of the 13 local health areas (LHAs) in the region saw decreases from the previous week, most notably in Abbotsford (144, down 53 from the week before), Langley (74, down 45) and South Surrey/White Rock (33, down 29).
LHAs that saw increases last week were Mission (73, up nine), Chilliwack (71, up two) and Hope (four, up two).
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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard shows Delta had an overall daily average of one new cases per 100,000 people for the week of Nov. 29, down from three the week before.
Broken down by community health service areas (CHSAs), that’s a rate of one cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (down from two the week before), three in Ladner (down from four) and one 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 less than one per cent of cases in B.C. that week, down from one the week before. Delta is home to two per cent of the province’s population.
The positivity rate in Delta based on public tests the week of Nov. 29 was one per cent, down from two from the week before. Rates were also one per cent for all three of Delta’s CHSAs, representing a drop of one per cent in North Delta and Ladner, and a drop of two per cent in Tsawwassen.
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The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age (5-11, 12+, 12-17, 18+, 18-49 and 50+) and by whether people have received their first or second dose, or in the case of those 70+, their third dose.
As of Nov. 29, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 95 per cent of adults aged 12 and over having received at least their first does of vaccine, unchanged from the week before. Delta also led in second doses among residents 12 and over — 93 per cent, up one per cent from the week before.
Broken down by CHSA, that’s 96 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (up one per cent from the week before), 96 per cent in Ladner (unchanged), and 94 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 93 per cent in North Delta (up one per cent), 94 per cent in Ladner (unchanged) and 92 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 (unchanged from the week before), 96 for North Delta (unchanged), 96 for Ladner (unchanged) and 94 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were also similar: 93 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 93 for North Delta (unchanged), 94 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 92 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).
For kids aged 12-17, first dose rates as of Nov. 29 were 95 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 93 for North Delta (unchanged), 98 for Ladner (unchanged) and 94 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 91 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 89 for North Delta (up one per cent), 96 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 90 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
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First dose rates were nearly the same for those 18-49 and those 50 and over.
For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 95 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 95 in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 93 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 92 for North Delta (unchanged), 94 for Ladner (unchanged) and 94 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was 96 per cent for Delta overall (unchanged), 97 for North Delta (unchanged), 96 for Ladner (unchanged) and 92 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were lower — 93 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 93 for North Delta (unchanged), 93 for Ladner (unchanged) and 89 for Tsawwassen (unchanged).
The dashboard now also includes third dose/booster coverage for those 70 and over, and the overall rate for Delta the week of Nov. 29 was 44 per cent, up from 32 the week before. Broken down by CHSA, that’s 37 per cent in North Delta (up from 25), 47 in Ladner (up from 36) and 50 in Tsawwassen (up from 39).
SEE ALSO: COVID-19 outbreaks in steep decline at B.C. hospitals, care homes (Dec. 2, 2021)
Other than Delta, the Fraser Health LHA with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over was Surrey with 95 per cent (unchanged from the week before). The next highest were Burnaby and New Westminster with 94 (both unchanged), followed by Tri-Cities with 92 (unchanged) and South Surrey/White Rock with 91 (unchanged).
When it came to second dose rates, the rankings after Delta were: Burnaby (92, unchanged), Surrey and New Westminster (91, both unchanged), Tri-Cities (90, up one per cent) and South Surrey/White Rock (89, up one per cent).
SEE ALSO: B.C. calls on retired medical staff to help with COVID-19 vaccinations (Dec. 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 (Nov. 29), 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 three Delta schools: Hellings Elementary (Nov. 23, 24, 25 and 26), North Delta Secondary (Nov. 22 and 23) and Pinewood Elementary (Nov. 22, 23, 24 and 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.”
SEE ALSO: 97% of B.C. public service employees fully vaccinated against COVID following mandate (Nov. 30, 2021)
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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