B.C. reports 358 new COVID-19 over the weekend, 11 new cases in Island Health

Posted: Oct. 5, 2020 4:35PM | Last Updated: Oct. 5, 2020 6:40PM

Province of BC

Geographic distribution of COVID-19 by health authority from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2020.

B.C. health officials reported 358 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, including 11 new cases in Island Health.

From Friday to Saturday, there were 130 new cases. From Saturday to Sunday, there were 108 new cases of COVID-19. And from Sunday to Monday, there were 120 cases.

Eight of the new cases are epidemiologically-linked, meaning people who were never tested but were presumed to have COVID-19 because they developed symptoms and were close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed case.

There were also four COVID-19 deaths reported over the weekend: three in Fraser Health and one in Vancouver Coastal Health. The B.C. COVID-19 death toll is now 242.

B.C. has now had a total of 9,379 cases since the start of the pandemic, including 220 in Island Health, 3,580 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 4,980 in Fraser Health, 548 in Interior Health, 322 in Northern Health and 89 among people who reside outside of Canada (visitors and temporary foreign workers).

There are 1,353 active cases in the province (up 51 from Oct. 2). Sixty-six people are hospitalized with COVID-19 (three more than Oct. 2), with 16 in intensive care (no change from Oct. 2).

There are 3,010 people under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases (down 104 from Oct. 2). A total of 8,150 have recovered.

There are three new healthcare outbreaks in the Fraser Health region. There is also a community outbreak at the Valhalla Distribution/MSJ Distribution facility in Delta, B.C.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, also released B.C.’s latest epidemiological modelling on Monday.

According to Henry, B.C. continues to have cases all across the province, but the concentration is in the Lower Mainland.

Geographic distribution of COVID-19 by health authority from

Island Health

There are 10 active cases in Island Health: five in southern Vancouver Island (up two from Oct. 2) and five on central Vancouver Island (up four from Oct. 2).

A case can be removed from the active list if it has been 10 days since the onset of symptoms and the case would no longer be considered isolating in the community.

“There’s a number of them,” Henry said when asked about the new cases in Island Health.

“Some of them are related. Some of them are travel related. Most of them are individual cases in a number of different communities on the island and Island Health is following up with individuals. And as we’re aware, one of them is related to a school exposure event.”

Last week, people in Island Health were still reporting long wait times to try to get a test booked over the phone. The health authority said it had introduced a callback feature to try to address the high numbers.

Henry said the health authority is continuing to look at many different strategies to try to improve the wait times, including bringing on more staff and expanding hours at testing sites.

“It is very much a challenge that came on more quickly than expected and quickly overwhelmed the system.”

There are no COVID-19 hospitalizations in Island Health and 204 people have recovered.

Southern Vancouver Island includes the Greater Victoria region, Southern Gulf Islands and the Port Renfrew area.

Central Vancouver Island includes the Cowichan Valley, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni and Tofino areas.

Northern Vancouver Island goes from the Comox Valley to Port Hardy but also includes surrounding areas like Alert Bay and Sointula.

Island Health’s COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 5, 2020.

Between March 1 and Sept. 4, public health staff contacted approximately 938 individuals who were identified during the COVID-19 contact tracing process in Island Health. The information comes from an FOI request sent by CHEK.

More COVID-19 modelling information:

Henry said in the latest weekly profile, eight per cent of cases need hospitalization, down from earlier in the pandemic.

Weekly profile of COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 5. (Province of BC)

Henry said deaths from COVID-19 are overrepresented among people who are older, with a median age of 85. There has been an increase in the number of people who have tested positive since July.

The B.C. COVID-19 epidemic curve from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2020 (Province of BC)

The majority of cases are related to local acquisition. Over 80 per cent of cases are mostly people who had a known contact who was positive or a cluster.

Likely source of COVID-19 infections in B.C. from Jan. 15 to Oct. 1, 2020 (Province of BC)

The number of people in hospital has gone up since mid-August, but still lower number than the first wave.

COVID-19 critical cases in B.C. from March 25 to Oct. 1, 2020.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in B.C. from March 18 to Oct. 1, 2020.

Henry said very few young people under the age of 19 require hospitalization. No young people have required ICU care, and no one has died in that age group.

B.C. COVID-19 cases by age. (Province of BC)

According to Henry, about 500,000 students and educators are back to school. Some students and staff have tested positive. Children still make up less than 10 per cent of cases. She said schools are not amplifying transmission in the community.

COVID-19 and schools (Province of BC)

There have been a number of exposures, about half and half between elementary schools and high schools.

COVID-19 exposures in a school setting. (Province of BC)

Henry said the majority of exposures are schools in the Lower Mainland (largest number of school districts). Most of the school exposures related to exposure events outside of the school setting.

COVID-19 cases in school-aged children (Province of BC)

Meanwhile, testing rates have gone up with turnaround times in the lab about 28 hours on average. There has been increased testing in youngest age groups.

COVID-19 lab testing in B.C. (Province of BC)

Henry said the growth rate of COVID-19 cases is decreasing as people are having safe connections in the community, meaning that on average, people who have COVID-19 pass it to less than one other person.

COVID-19 modelling trends in B.C. (Province of BC)

Henry said currently, the average rate of infectious contacts is estimated to be roughly 45 per cent of normal.

COVID-19 scenarios (Province of BC)

“We’re keeping our curve flat and low compared to many other places. But we are not out of the woods. Make sure we keep it this way as we move into respiratory season,” Henry said.

Daily case rates of COVID-19 in Canada (Province of BC)

COVID-19 cases and deaths in Canada (Province of BC)

More COVID-19 information

If there is a confirmed COVID-19 case in a school, public health contacts affected school community members directly. Regional health authorities also post school notifications on their websites, providing the date and type of notification (outbreak, cluster or exposure) for impacted schools.

The Island Health school site can be found here. Island Health has reported one school exposure to date: Alberni District Secondary School. The dates of exposure are Sept. 14, 15, 17, 18, and 22.

B.C. has posted detailed information about the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases from January to August 2020. This map will be updated monthly, according to B.C. health officials.

Geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases in B.C. from January to August 2020 (BC CDC)

Island Health’s COVID-19 data breaks down North, Central and South Island case counts and lists the number of days since any new lab-diagnosed cases. You can find the data here along with any public exposures.

To see B.C.’s COVID-19 numbers by day and health authority, along with testing numbers and recoveries, visit the B.C. COVID-19 dashboard. The numbers are updated at 4:30 p.m. PT each weekday.

To see a list of all provincial public COVID-19 exposures in the province, including links to exposures listed on health authority websites, visit the B.C. Centre for Disease Control website (CDC) here.

The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:13 p.m. PDT on Oct. 5, 2020:

There are 168,964 confirmed cases in Canada (7 presumptive, 168,957 confirmed including 9,504 deaths, 142,333 resolved)

Quebec: 79,650 confirmed (including 5,884 deaths, 66,180 resolved)
Ontario: 54,814 confirmed (including 2,980 deaths, 46,360 resolved)
Alberta: 18,935 confirmed (including 280 deaths, 16,872 resolved)
British Columbia: 9,739 confirmed (including 242 deaths, 8,115 resolved)
Manitoba: 2,191 confirmed (including 23 deaths, 1,429 resolved)
Saskatchewan: 1,968 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,801 resolved)
Nova Scotia: 1,089 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,021 resolved)
Newfoundland and Labrador: 276 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 269 resolved)
New Brunswick: 203 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 196 resolved)
Prince Edward Island: 59 confirmed (including 57 resolved)
Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)
Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
Nunavut: No confirmed cases, 7 presumptive
Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is more than 35.3 million. There have been more than one million deaths recorded.

Watch Dr. Bonnie Henry on Oct. 5 below