Active COVID-19 cases in Delta more than quadrupled last week as the pandemic’s fourth wave continued to take hold across the 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 23 cases for the week of Aug. 1 to 7, up from five the week before.
Three weeks earlier (the week ending July 17), Delta 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 increased by 214 cases the week ending Aug. 7, the fourth time in five weeks that case totals have increased after nearly three months of falling COVID numbers.
All but one of the 13 local health areas in the region saw increases from the previous week, notably in Delta, Surrey (107, up 54 from the previous week), South Surrey (39, up 31), Langley (63, up 26) and New Westminster (26, up 21).
Only Burnaby saw a decrease, with one fewer cases for a total of 53.
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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Tuesday shows Delta had an overall daily average off four new cases per 100,000 people for the week of Aug. 3 to 9, up from one the week before.
Broken down by community health service areas (CHSAs), that’s a rate of four cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (up from one the week before), three in Ladner (unchanged from the week before) and four in Tsawwassen (up from one). 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 (29, up from 11) represented one per cent of cases in B.C. that week, unchanged from the previous three weeks. Delta is home to two per cent of the province’s population.
The overall test positivity rate in Delta for the week ending Aug. 5 was three per cent, up from one the week before, but the rates varied slightly between Delta’s three CHSAs.
North Delta had a rate of four per cent (up from one the week prior) while Ladner and Tsawwassen both had rates of two per cent (up from one per cent and zero per cent, respectively).
Positivity rates were mostly higher when looking only at public tests —five per cent for Delta as a whole (up from two), seven per cent for North Delta (up from three), two per cent for Ladner (down from three) and three per cent for Tsawwassen (up from one).
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The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age (12+, 18+, 18-49 and 50+) and by whether they have received their first or second dose.
As of Aug. 5, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 88 per cent of adults aged 12 and over having received at least their first does of vaccine, unchanged from the week before. As well, 77 per cent of residents 12 and over have received their second dose as well, up nine per cent from the week before.
Broken down by CHSA, that’s 88 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (unchanged from the week before), 90 per cent in Ladner (up one per cent), and 88 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 75 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 80 per cent in Ladner (up three per cent) and 80 per cent in Tsawwassen (up two per cent).
Limited to adults 18 and over, first dose rates were 89 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged from the week before), 89 for North Delta (up one per cent), 90 for Ladner (unchanged) and 89 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 79 per cent for Delta as a whole (up two per cent), 77 for North Delta (up two per cent), 82 for Ladner (up two per cent) and 82 for Tsawwassen (up two per cent).
SEE ALSO: Canada working on a COVID-19 vaccine passport for international travel (Aug. 11, 2021)
Vaccine uptake was still markedly different between those 18-49 and those 50 and over, however.
For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 92 per cent (unchanged from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 91 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 93 in Ladner (unchanged) and 92 in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 87 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 85 for North Delta (up one per cent), 88 for Ladner (unchanged) and 88 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was lower but climbing — 86 per cent for Delta overall (unchanged), 87 for North Delta (up one per cent), 87 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 84 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 71 per cent for Delta as a whole (up three per cent), 70 for North Delta (up three per cent), 73 for Ladner (up four per cent) and 71 for Tsawwassen (up three per cent).
After Delta, the other LHAs in the Fraser Health region with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over are New Westminster and Surrey with 86 per cent (unchanged from the week before) followed by Burnaby (unchanged at 85 per cent) and Tri-Cities (85 per cent, up from 84), then South Surrey/White Rock (unchanged at 84 per cent).
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On Aug. 5, 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 4933 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to July 31, meaning there were only 26 new cases last month, compared to 92 in June, 488 in May, 990 in April and 614 in March.
The map also shows there were 189 new cases in Surrey, compared to 529 in June, 4,012 in May, 7,043 in April and 4,406 in March; and 771 new cases across the Fraser Health region, compared to 1,636 in June, 8,913 in May, 17,086 in April and 10,554 in March. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 424 new cases in July, compared to 563 in June, 2,833 in May, 7,497 in April and 5,726 in March.
As of Thursday morning (Aug. 12), there was one ongoing outbreak at a Delta long-term care facility — two cases at KinVillage in Tsawwassen. There were no public exposure notifications in the city, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.
READ MORE: COVID-19 outbreak declared at South Delta long-term care facility (Aug. 9, 2021)
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: 3 infection detecting dogs in B.C. can now sniff out COVID-19 (Aug. 12, 2021)
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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