Active COVID-19 cases in Delta held steady the week ending July 31 as case counts across Fraser Health jumped by 140.
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 five cases for the week of July 25 to 31, down from six the week before.
The two cases for the week ending July 17 marked the fewest active cases in the city since the BC CDC began releasing LHA-level data on Dec. 5, 2020.
(Story continues below graph)
!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var a in e.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();
The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region increased by 140 cases the week ending July 31 the third time in four weeks that case totals have increased after nearly three months of falling COVID.
Eight of the 13 local health areas in the region saw increases from the previous week, while four saw decreases and one saw no change.
Notable increases were seen in Burnaby (54 cases, up 40 from the week before), Chilliwack (30, up 25), Langley (37, up 21), Abbotsford (28, up 20) and Surrey (53, up 17).
Maple Ridge, meanwhile, had the largest decrease that week (down seven for a total of 24 cases), while Hope held steady at one case.
THE LATEST: 5 deaths reported in B.C. as new COVID infections top 1,000 over the weekend (Aug. 9, 2021)
Data shared on the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard Friday shows Delta had an overall daily average of one new cases per 100,000 people for the week of July 30 to Aug. 5, unchanged from the week before.
Broken down by community health service areas (CHSAs), that’s a rate of one cases per 100,000 people in North Delta (up from zero the week before), three in Ladner (up from zero) and one in Tsawwassen (down from three). 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 (11) represented one per cent of cases in B.C. that week, unchanged from the previous two weeks. Delta is home to two per cent of the province’s population.
The overall test positivity rate in Delta for the week ending Aug. 5 was one per cent, unchanged from the week before, but the rates varied slightly between Delta’s three CHSAs.
North Delta and Ladner both had rates of one per cent (up from zero the week prior), while Tsawwassen had a rate of zero per cent (down from two cent the week prior).
Positivity rates were the similar when looking only at public tests — two per cent for Delta as a whole (up form one), three per cent for North Delta and Ladner, and one per cent in Tsawwassen (down from three).
SEE ALSO: Modelling group warns of ‘rapid growth’ in COVID cases, recommends masking for all indoors (Aug. 9, 2021)
The dashboard also shows breakdowns of vaccine coverage across the CHSAs by age (12+, 18+, 18-49 and 50+) and — new last week — by whether they have received their first or second dose.
As of Aug. 5, Delta continued to lead all other LHAs in Fraser Health with 88 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, 68 per cent of residents 12 and over have received their second dose as well, up seven per cent from the week before.
Broken down by CHSA, that’s 88 per cent first dose coverage in North Delta (up two per cent from the week before), 89 per cent in Ladner (unchanged), and 88 per cent in Tsawwassen (unchanged). In terms of second dose rates, that’s 75 per cent in North Delta (up 10 per cent), 77 per cent in Ladner (up seven per cent) and 78 per cent in Tsawwassen (up seven per cent).
Limited to adults 18 and over, first dose rates were 89 per cent for Delta as a whole (up one per cent from the week before), 88 for North Delta (up one per cent), 90 for Ladner (up one per cent) and 88 for Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 77 per cent for Delta as a whole (up five per cent), 75 for North Delta (up six per cent), 80 for Ladner (up six per cent) and 80 for Tsawwassen (up five per cent).
However, vaccine uptake was still markedly different between those 18-49 and those 50 and over.
For adults 50 and over, first dose coverage in Delta was 92 per cent (up one per cent from the week previous). Broken down by CHSA, that’s 91 per cent in North Delta (unchanged), 93 in Ladner (up one) and 92 in Tsawwassen (unchanged). Second dose rates were 86 per cent for Delta as a whole (up two per cent), 84 for North Delta (up two), 88 for Ladner (up two) and 87 for Tsawwassen (up one).
For those aged 18-49, first dose coverage was lower but climbing — 86 per cent for Delta overall (up from 86), 86 for North Delta (up from 85), 86 for Ladner (unchanged) and 83 for Tsawwassen (up from 82). Second dose rates were 68 per cent for Delta as a whole (up from 59), 67 for North Delta (up from 59), 69 for Ladner (up from 59) and 68 for Tsawwassen (up from 57).
After Delta, the other LHAs in the region with the highest first dose vaccine coverage for adults aged 12 and over are New Westminster and Surrey with 86 per cent (up from 85 the week before) followed by Burnaby (85 per cent, up from 84) then South Surrey/White Rock and Tri-Cities (84 per cent, up from 83).
RELATED: B.C. shortening gap between 1st and 2nd COVID vaccine doses to 28 days (Aug. 9, 2021)
On Aug. 5, the BC CDC posted an updated map showing total cumulative cases by local health area through to the end of June. The map shows there were a total of 4933 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to July 31, meaning there were only 26 new cases last month, compared to 92 in June, 488 in May, 990 in April and 614 in March.
The map also shows there were 189 new cases in Surrey, compared to 529 in June, 4,012 in May, 7,043 in April and 4,406 in March; and 771 new cases across the Fraser Health region, compared to 1,636 in June, 8,913 in May, 17,086 in April and 10,554 in March. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 424 new cases in July, compared to 563 in June, 2,833 in May, 7,497 in April and 5,726 in March.
!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var a in e.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();
As of Monday (Aug. 9), there was one new outbreak at a Delta long-term care facility — two cases at KinVillage in Tsawwassen. There were no public exposure notifications in the city, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.
READ MORE: COVID-19 outbreak declared at South Delta long-term care facility (Aug. 9, 2021)
Meanwhile, 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.”
editor@northdeltareporter.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
