Active COVID-19 cases in Delta dropped again for the third time in as many weeks.
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 36 cases for the week of Sept. 12 to 18, a drop of eight from the week before. It’s the third week that numbers have declined in the city after hitting a high of 81 the week ending Aug. 28 — the most cases since the week ending May 29.
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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region also decreased slightly for the first time since the week ending July 17 — 1,472 compared to 1,530 the week ending Sept. 11.
Until last week, cases had been rising for nine of the past ten weeks after nearly three months of falling COVID numbers.
Despite the modest decrease, last week was the fifth week in a row of 1,000+ cases. Before that, cases hadn’t topped 1,000 since the week ending May 29.
Delta was one of seven local health areas (LHAs) in the region to see decreases from the previous week, including Surrey (291, down 59 from the previous week), Tri-Cities (111, down 54) and Burnaby (144, down 33).
However, six of the 13 LHAs in Fraser Health saw increases in cases, notably in Langley (185, up 23), Abbotsford (195, up 37) and Chilliwack (215, up 49).
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Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Tuesday shows Delta had an overall daily average of four new cases per 100,000 people for the week of Sept. 13 to 19, down from six 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 (down from eight the week before), six in Ladner (up from three) and four 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 one per cent of cases in B.C. that week, unchanged from the week before. Delta is home to two per cent of the province’s population.
The overall test positivity rate in Delta for the week ending Aug. 23 was two per cent, down from three the week before, but the rates varied somewhat between Delta’s three CHSAs.
North Delta had a rate of two per cent (down from four the week prior) while Ladner had a rate of three per cent (up from two) and Tsawwassen had a rate of two per cent (down from three).
Positivity rates were higher when looking only at public tests — three per cent for Delta as a whole (down from five), three per cent for North Delta (down from five), four per cent for Ladner (up from three) and two per cent for Tsawwassen (down from four).
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The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age (12+, 12-17, 18+, 18-49 and 50+) and by whether people have received their first or second dose.
As of Sept. 20, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 92 per cent of adults aged 12 and over having received at least their first does of vaccine, up one per cent from the week before. As well, 86 per cent of residents 12 and over have received their second dose as well, up one per cent from the week before.
Broken down by CHSA, that’s 92 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (up one per cent from the week before), 93 per cent in Ladner (up one per cent), and 91 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 84 per cent in North Delta (up one per cent), 88 per cent in Ladner (up one per cent) and 87 per cent in Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
Limited to adults 18 and over, first dose rates were 92 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged from the week before), 92 for North Delta (unchanged), 93 for Ladner (unchanged) and 92 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 86 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 85 for North Delta (up one per cent), 88 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 87 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
The dashboard also includes vaccine coverage for kids aged 12-17. First dose rates for that age range as of Sept. 20 were 89 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 88 for North Delta (up one per cent), 91 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 89 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent). Second dose rates were 79 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 77 for North Delta (up one per cent), 82 for Ladner (up two per cent) and 81 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
First dose rates were nearly the same for those 18-49 and those 50 and over, though second dose rates were markedly different between the two groups.
For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 93 per cent (unchanged from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 93 per cent in North Delta (up one per cent), 94 in Ladner (unchanged) and 93 in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 90 per cent for Delta as a whole (unchanged), 89 for North Delta (unchanged), 91 for Ladner (unchanged) and 91 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was 92 per cent for Delta overall (up one per cent), 92 for North Delta (up one per cent), 92 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 88 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were lower — 82 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent), 82 for North Delta (up two per cent), 84 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 81 for Tsawwassen (up one per cent).
After Delta, the Fraser Health LHA with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over was Surrey with 91 per cent (up one per cent). The next highest were Burnaby and New Westminster with (90, both up one per cent), followed by Tri-Cities (89, up one per cent), and South Surrey/White Rock (88, up one per cent).
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On Sept. 8, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area through to the end of August. The map shows there were a total of 5,156 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to Aug. 31, meaning there were 223 new cases last month, compared to 26 in July, 92 in June, 488 in May, 990 in April and 614 in March.
The map also shows there were 980 new cases in Surrey in August, compared to 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 4,478 new cases of COVID-19 in August, compared to 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 2,787 new cases in August, compared to 424 in July, compared to 563 in June, 2,833 in May, 7,497 in April and 5,726 in March.
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As of Thursday morning (Sept. 9), there was one outbreak at a Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities. Fraser Health declared an outbreak at Northcrest Care Centre in North Delta on Sept. 2 after one resident and two staff members in the independently-owned and operated long-term care facility tested positive for COVID-19.
READ MORE: COVID-19 outbreak declared at North Delta long-term care facility (Sept. 2, 2021)
As of Sept. 16, the outbreak was up to six total cases — four residents and two staff.
Meanwhile, there were no public exposure notifications in the city, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.
As of Thursday, 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.”
RELATED: 20 staff, students test positive for COVID at Chilliwack elementary school (Sept. 23, 2021)
SEE ALSO: Concerns prompt B.C. to return to notifying schools, parents about COVID exposures (Sept. 22, 2021)
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