B.C. public health teams reported 2,387 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, with hospitalization up but only a small increase in intensive care patients in the province’s hospitals.
Another 13 deaths were attributed to the coronavirus for Jan. 19. There are 895 people in hospital with active infections, up by 41, with all active infections counted in the hospital census whether the patient was admitted with COVID-19 or another condition. There are 115 people in intensive care, up by three in the past 24 hours.
There were 2,032 new cases recorded for Tuesday, part of a steady decline in daily confirmed tests since they peaked at more than 4,000 on New Year’s Eve. Tuesday’s cases were from 10,349 completed tests, as testing has been limited due to large numbers of health care staff engaged in vaccination campaigns or off sick to isolate for five days with possible COVID-19 symptoms.
Since the Omicron variant began spreading quickly in B.C., the completed tests represent a fraction of the actual infections, based on test positivity rates for the samples that have been processed. Rapid tests are being deployed in hospitals, care homes and schools to prompt isolation or further lab testing, which has also been reduced by people being away from work.
B.C. health authorities continue to operate scheduled appointment COVID-19 vaccination clinics around the province for residents age five and older. Registration and booking appointments in B.C. can be done online here, or by calling 1-833-838-2323 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., seven days a week.
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