The number of people actively suffering with COVID-19 plunged more than 26% overnight, to 1,465 from 1987 yesterday, as the number of people who have recovered from the virus that caused a global pandemic surged, government statistics show.
The B.C. government released data September 22 that showed 6,589 people have now recovered from COVID-19, up 617 from yesterday. The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) identified 96 new infections and no new deaths were reported. The only way that all those numbers add up is if one person who had been listed as actively infected has left the province. So far, there have been 23 such people, according to government statistics.
The plunge in the number of active infections is a remarkably positive development given that those active cases had been steadily rising, and yesterday's count of 1,987 active cases was a record high.
Glacier Media asked the B.C.'s Ministry of Health for an explanation for the change and was sent a statement saying that the large jump in recovered cases "reflects Vancouver Coastal Health’s delay in notifying BCCDC of recovered cases in the last month, while they transitioned to a new data collection system."
The number of people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases has risen to a record 3,314 people.
The total number of COVID-19 infections in the province is now up to 8,304, and the breakdown by health region is:
• 2,984 in Vancouver Coastal Health (up 39);
• 4,254 in Fraser Health (up 43);
• 203 in Island Health (no change);
• 511 in Interior Health (up three);
• 266 in Northern Health (up 11); and
• 86 people who reside outside Canada (no change).
One additional person has been admitted to hospital, resulting in 61 people being treated in hospitals, including 22 who are in intensive care units – one more than yesterday.
With no new deaths, the province's death toll remains at 227.
"There has been an outbreak in one unit at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver," B.C.'s provincial health officer, Bonnie Henry, and Stephen Brown, deputy minister of health, said in a joint statement.
They added that there are 12 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and four acute-care facilities that have active outbreaks, but that included an outbreak at the Royal Arch Masonic Home long-term care facility – a second outbreak for that facility. Henry said last week that this outbreak was declared over, and when Glacier Media asked the Ministry of Health, an official confirmed that this outbreak is indeed still over.
That leaves 11 assisted living, long-term care or seniors' rental buildings with active COVID-19 outbreaks, They include:
• OPAL by Element assisted living facility in Vancouver;
• Point Grey Private Hospital long-term care facility in Vancouver;
• Yaletown House long-term care facility in Vancouver;
• Bear Creek Villa independent living facility in Surrey;
• Cherington Place long-term care facility in Surrey;
• Evergreen Hamlets long-term care facility in Surrey;
• KinVillage assisted living facility in Tsawwassen;
• Milieu Children and Family Services Society community-living facility in Courtenay;
• New Vista Care Home long-term care facility in Burnaby;
• Normanna long-term care facility in Burnaby; and
• Rideau Retirement Centre independent living facility in Burnaby.
