The number of people in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19 has declined for the first time since mid-June.
As of July 21, there are 406 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 30 in critical care. That’s down from the 426 and 34 reported last week.
B.C. records COVID hospitalizations through census counts. That means not everyone in hospital who tests positive for COVID is there because of the virus.
While hospitalization are down, new cases are up. For the week of July 10 – 16, B.C. reported 1,044 new COVID infections up from 973 the week before. These numbers only reflect PCR-confirmed tests and are an undercount of the true number as most British Columbians rely on rapid antigen tests to determine whether they have COVID.
Hospital admissions are also up compared to the prior week. The BC CDC reported 246 people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 between July 10 – 16 compared to 211 July 3 – 9. The number of admissions for July 3 – 9 was later revised to show 262 people were admitted to hospital. Hospital admissions reported by the BC CDC are often revised upwards as new weekly reports are released and more data becomes available.
There are 21 new deaths reported between July 10 – 16. The BC CDC records COVID-19 deaths on the basis of 30-day all-cause mortality, meaning anyone who dies within 30 days of a PCR-confirmed COVID-19 case is considered to have died from the virus. The underlying cause of death takes approximately eight weeks to be recorded.
READ MORE: B.C. COVID hospitalizations rise for third week in a row
@SchislerCole
cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca
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