Active COVID-19 cases in Delta hit lowest point of 2021

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delta fell again last week, hitting its lowest point since health officials began releasing city-level data in December.

Every Wednesday, the BC Centre for Disease Control releases a map showing the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases by local health area (LHA) of residence. The latest weekly map shows Delta had 51 cases for the week of May 30 to June 5, 20 fewer than the week previous.

Delta’s case total has fallen for seven of the last eight weeks, only adding 28 cases the week ending May 1. Previous to that, the numbers had been climbing for 10 straight weeks before hitting a record high of 262 the week ending April 10.

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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region decreased for the seventh straight week to 739, down 390 from the week previous. Last week was also the first time the weekly total for the region was below 1,000 since the BC CDC began releasing the weekly LHA maps in December of last year.

Eleven of the 13 local health areas in the Fraser Health region saw decreases from the previous week, most notably in Surrey (263, down 197).

Agassiz-Harrison was the only LHA to add new cases last week (two), while Hope held steady at two cases, the same as the week previous.

According to the recently-launched BC CDC COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, Delta had an overall daily average of six new cases per 100,000 people for the week of June 1-7, down from eight the week before.

Broken down by neighbourhood, the rate changes to 10 for North Delta (down from 11 the previous week), one for Ladner (down from two the previous week) and one for Tsawwassen (down from six the previous week).

Delta’s total case count represented four per cent of all cases reported in B.C. that week — up from three per cent the week before — even though Delta is home to only two per cent of the province’s population.

The overall test positivity rate in Delta for the week of June 1-7 was four per cent (down from one per cent from the week before), but the rates varied quote a bit between North and South Delta.

Of Delta’s three community health service areas (CHSAs), North Delta still had the highest rate (eight per cent, unchanged from the week before), while Ladner had the lowest rate (zero per cent, down from two per cent the week before). Tsawwassen, which is comprised of both the Delta community and the Tsawwassen First Nation, had a rate of one per cent, down from three per cent from the week before.

The positivity rate in North Delta was higher when only looking at public tests — nine per cent, unchanged from the week before — and similarly higher for Delta as a whole — five per cent, down from six. Ladner had a rate of zero per cent (down from two), while Tsawwassen had a rate of one per cent (down from four).

The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs. As of June 7, 81 per cent of adults aged 18 and over in Delta have received at least their first does of vaccine, three per cent more than the week before. Broken down by CHSA, that is 79 per cent in North Delta (up from 76), and 83 per cent in both Ladner and Tsawwassen (up from 80).

For adults 50 and over, vaccine coverage was 87 per cent in North Delta (up from 86 per cent the week before), 89 per cent in Ladner (up from 88) and 88 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged from the week before). Overall, coverage in Delta was 88 per cent (up from 87).

Last week, the BC CDC added vaccine coverage rates for “adults” aged 12 and up to the dashboard. With those aged 12-17 included, the overall rate for Delta was 79 per cent (up from 73). Broken down by CHSA, that is 77 per cent in North Delta (up from 71) and 81 per cent for both Ladner and Tsawwassen (up from 76).

On June 7, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area through to the end of May. The map shows there were a total of 4,815 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to May 31, meaning there were 488 new cases last month, compared to 990 in April and 614 in March.

The map also shows there were 4,012 new cases in Surrey in May, compared to 7,043 in April and 4,406 in March, and 8,913 new cases across the Fraser Health region, compared to 17,086 in April and 10,554 in March. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 2,833 new cases in May, compared to 7,497 in April and 5,726 in March.

As of Thursday (June 10), 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.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced April 8 that workplaces with three or more people who have COVID-19 and likely transmission in the workplace will be ordered to close, unless it is in the overriding public interest to keep it open. The closure generally last for 10 days unless otherwise determined by health officials.

Meanwhile, Fraser Health’s website listed exposures at four Delta schools as of Thursday morning: Heath Traditional Elementary (May 27 and 28), Pinewood Elementary (May 28 and 31, and June 1 and 2), Seaquam Secondary (May 27, 28, 31 and June 1) and École du Bois-Joli (May 31). Last Thursday there were also four listed exposures, compared to 13 the week before.

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.”

The latest COVID data came as health officials reported 148 new COVID-19 cases in the province over the past 24 hours — 75 of them in the Fraser Health region — the fourth straight day with fewer than 200 new cases.

Wednesday’s cases brought the total number of active cases in B.C. to 1,975, with three new deaths. B.C. has seen a total of 145,843 cases and 1,725 deaths since the pandemic began.

THE LATEST: B.C.’s COVID-19 decline continues, 148 new cases Wednesday (June 9, 2021)

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North Delta Reporter