The BC CDC is reporting just three new cases of COVID-19 in the week of May 9-15 in the Golden area, a sharp decrease from the 12 new cases the previous week.
This puts Golden in the daily rate of 5.1-10 infections per population of 100,000.
The community vaccination program concluded on May 16, with the Physicians of Golden reporting an excellent turnout. According to a May 17 update, 68.3 per cent of people in Golden have received their first dose, far ahead of the provincial average of 55 per cent.
Interior Health says that the program was brought to Golden in an effort to bring down case numbers in the area, after a surge in late April/early May.
“Thank you to everyone who helped vaccinate but most of all those of you who showed up for the shot in your arm!” wrote the Physicians.
“Communities that have been mass vaccinated have seen impressive decreases in the number of cases. We can expect to start seeing the effects in 2-3 weeks as people develop immunity from the vaccine.”
Surrounding communities have also been able to bend their curve back down, with no new cases in Revelstoke and only one in the Windermere region after their community vaccination program.
Farther south in the valley, Kimberley reported no new cases, Cranbrook four and 11 in Fernie.
Numbers are trending down province wide, but restrictions are not expected to be lifted until after the May long weekend as B.C. is still seeing high numbers of hospitalizations, even as those numbers come down.
Dr. Bonnie Henry has stated that not everything will fully open at once, with Dr. Theresa Tam stating that Canada is targeting 75 per cent first dose vaccination and 20 per cent full vaccination being the key to reducing restrictions this summer.
Canada is on track to receive enough vaccine to give every Canadian two doses by fall.
Register for the vaccine at getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca or call 1-833-828-2323.
Maps of new cases reported each week in each local health area can be found on the BC Centre for Disease Control website under BC COVID-19 data. Also available are graphs from the BCCDC Comparisons App showing how each health authority is doing in terms of positive test rates by month.
