Number of active COVID-19 cases in Delta continues to fall

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delta fell for the third week in a row last week, reaching its lowest point since February.

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 95 cases for the week of May 16-22, nine fewer than the week previous.

Delta’s case total has fallen for five of the last six weeks, only adding 28 cases the week ending May 1. Previous to that, the numbers had been climbing for 10 straight weeks before hitting a record high of 262 the week ending April 10.

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The overall number of active cases in the Fraser Health region decreased for the fifth straight week to 1,778, down 582 from the week previous.

All but two of the 13 local health areas in the Fraser Health region saw decreases from the previous week, most notably in Surrey (721, down 373), Abbotsford (257, down 58) and Burnaby (182, down 59). Chilliwack and Hope saw increases of 20 and two cases, respectively.

According to the newly-launched BC CDC COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, Delta had an overall daily average of 12 new cases per 100,000 people for the week of May 18-24. Broken down by neighbourhood, the rate changes to 19 for North Delta, five for Ladner and four for Tsawwassen. Delta’s total case count represented four per cent of all cases reported in B.C. that week, even though Delta is home to only two per cent of the province’s population.

The overall test positivity rate in Delta for the week of May 18-24 was 8.4 per cent, but the rates varied widely across the three community health service areas (CHSAs). Unsurprisingly, North Delta had the highest rate, 11.9 per cent, while Tsawwassen (comprising the Delta community and Tsawwassen First Nation) had the lowest rate, 3.1 per cent. Ladner, meanwhile, had a rate of 4.5 per cent.

The positivity rates were higher when only looking at public tests: 12.9 per cent in North Delta, five per cent in Ladner, 3.2 per cent in Tsawwassen, and 9.3 per cent for Delta as a whole.

Vaccine coverage was more even across the CHSAs. Seventy-three per cent of adults aged 18 and over in Delta have received at least their first does of vaccine. Broken down by CHSA, that is 73 per cent in North Delta, and 74 per cent in both Ladner and Tsawwassen.

For adults 50 and over, vaccine coverage wasa 84 per cent in North Delta and 87 per cent in both Ladner Tsawwassen (86 per cent for Delta overall).

As of Thursday (May 27), there were no outbreaks at any Delta long-term care, assisted living or independent living facilities, no public exposure notifications, and no Delta businesses had been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 spread among workers.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 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.

Meanwhile, Fraser Health’s website listed exposures at 13 Delta schools as of Thursday morning: Burnsview Secondary (May 13, 14, 17, 18, 19 and 20), Chalmers Elementary (May 17, 18, 19 and 20), Delta Manor Education Centre (May 17 and 18), Delta Secondary (May 13, 18 and 19), Holly Elementary (May 17, 18 and 19), McCloskey Elementary (May 17), Pinewood Elementary (May 13, 17, 18 and 19), Richardson Elementary (May 13), Seaquam Secondary (May 13, 17, 18 and 19), South Delta Secondary (May 13 and 14), École du Bois-Joli (May 20), Immaculate Conception School (May 13 and 14), and Southpointe Academy (May 13).

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.”

The latest COVID data came as health officials reported 250 new COVID-19 cases in the province over the past 24 hours — 109 of which were in the Fraser Health region. Wednesday’s cases brought the total number of active cases in B.C. to 3,580, with three new deaths. B.C. has seen a total of 142,886 cases and 1,683 deaths since the pandemic began.

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The most recent BC CDC map showing total cumulative cases by local health area from the start of the pandemic through the end of April 2021 shows there were a total of 4,327 COVID-19 cases in Delta through to April 30, meaning there were 990 new cases last month, compared to 614 in March.

The map also shows there were 7,043 new cases in Surrey in April, compared to 4,406 in March, and 17,086 new cases across the Fraser Health region, compared to 10,554 in March. Vancouver Coastal Health, meanwhile, had 7,497 new cases in April, compared to 5,726 in March.