B.C. health officials have released new data that offers a more rigorous look at how COVID-19 has spread throughout the province.
For the first time, that includes revealing how many cases have been confirmed in each health sub-region of British Columbia.
On Thursday (June 4), provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry released her latest epidimiology report on the novel coronavirus, including a new look at how the contagious respiratory illness hit regions across B.C.
“It has touched every part of the province,” Henry said during a news conference.
The data shows that Fraser East – which includes Abbotsford, Chilliwack and other communities between Mission and Hope – has been hit the hardest when based on population, with the highest per-capita case rate of COVID-19. A total of 367 of British Columbia’s 2,597 test-positive cases were confirmed in the region between Jan. 22 and May 31. One-third of those cases are linked to the Mission Institution outbreak, where 132 people were diagnosed with the virus.
The Lower Mainland, which includes the Fraser Health Authority and Vancouver Coastal Health, has seen most of the confirmed cases in the province, including a majority of the outbreaks declared in long-term or assisted living facilities, hospital wards and businesses.
The two authorities are also home to most of the nearly 100 deaths in care homes, including those at the Langley Lodge and Lynn Valley Care Home.
Thursday’s data follows calls by health advocates and other medical professionals for the province to release more detailed information pertaining to which specific cities or towns have cases – a request Henry had shot down numerous times, citing privacy concerns.
Some of the sub-regions to see the smallest number of cases include the Kootenay-Boundary region (12 total confirmed cases), the North West (14) and North East (14).
On Vancouver Island, where the health authority currently has zero test-positive cases, there have been 25 confirmed cases within the Central Vancouver Island region, 43 within the Southern Vancouver Island region, and 59 in the northern portion.
The Okanagan has had 97 cases.
Here is a breakdown of each sub-region:
More to come.
-with files from Tyler Olsen
@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation here.
