The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delta decreased last week after setting the record the week before for the most since health officials began releasing city-level numbers in early December.
Every Wednesday, the BC Centre for Disease Control releases a map showing the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases by local health area of residence. The latest weekly map shows Delta had 241 cases for the week of April 11 to 17, 21 fewer cases more than the 262 cases reported the week previous and 33 more than the previous high set the week ending Dec. 5 — the first weekly map released by the BC CDC.
Previous to last week, the number of active cases in the city had been climbing for 10 straight weeks — from a low of 59 the week ending Jan. 30.
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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region also hit a new high last week with 4,260 — 161 more cases than the week before and the most cases since the BC CDC began releasing weekly case totals by local health area. While the number of cases in the region did rise last week, it was much less of a gain than in the weeks previous — 845 more for the week ending April 10, 433 for the week ending April 3, and 606 for the week ending March 27.
Only four of the 13 local health areas in the Fraser Health region saw increases over the previous week: Surrey (1,698, up 125, Langley (340, up 130), Abbotsford (492, up 179), and Agassiz-Harrison (20, up 5).
Wednesday’s map release came as health officials reported 862 new COVID-19 cases in the province over the past 24 hours — 557 of those in the Fraser Health region — and seven more deaths, bringing the total to 1,546 since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations also rose to a record 483 people, up from 456 on Tuesday, with 164 people in intensive care, up from 148 on Tuesday.
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Earlier this month, the BC CDC released an updated map showing the total cumulative cases by local health area from the start of the pandemic through the end of March 2021. That map shows there were a total of 3,337 COVID-19 cases in Delta through March 31, with 614 new cases that month.
The map also shows there were 4, 406 new cases in Surrey in March, and 10,554 new cases across the Fraser Health region. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 5,726 new cases that month.
As of Thursday morning (April 22), there were no outbreaks at any Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities.
Health officials did close one Delta business — Golden West Baking Co., located at 1111 Derwent Way on Annacis Island — on April 17 due the number of cases COVID-19 among the workers. The closure follows an announcement by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry 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.
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Meanwhile, Fraser Health’s website listed exposures at 13 Delta schools as of Thursday morning: Brooke Elementary (April 9), Burnsview Secondary (April 8 and 9), Cougar Canyon Elementary (April 12 and 13), Chalmers Elementary (April 12, 15 and 16), Delview Secondary (April 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16), Gray Elementary (April 12, 13 and 14), Heath Traditional Elementary (April 12), North Delta Secondary (April 8, 9, 12 and 13), Pebble Hill Traditional Elementary (April 7 and 8), Sands Secondary (April 8, 12, 13 and 14), Seaquam Secondary School (April 8, 9 and 12), Sunshine Hills Elementary (April 12, 13 and 16) and Immaculate Conception School (April 8 and 12).
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.”
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