84 new COVID cases reported on North Shore

Numbers of new COVID cases on the North Shore are remaining stable.

There were 84 new cases of COVID-19 on the North Shore in the past week – a number very similar to the 89 cases the week before.

Between Sept. 19 and Sept. 25, there were 67 cases in North Vancouver and 17 in West Vancouver, according to information released by B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control.

The number of new cases on the North Shore remained below 100 this week for the second week in a row – down from the totals earlier in the month when the fourth wave of the pandemic began.

Data shows there has recently been a higher rate of cases in the western part of the District of North Vancouver. Rates are also higher on Bowen Island, in the City of North Vancouver and in the Ambleside area of West Vancouver.

A map showing the geographical breakdown of new COVID-19 cases reported in the Lower Mainland for the week ending Sept. 25, 2021.

Rates of vaccination on the North Shore are still inching up, very slowly, with between 89 and 93 per cent of people over 12 having received one dose and between 83 and 88 per cent of those fully vaccinated.

Between 79 and 84 per cent of teens between 12 and 17 are fully vaccinated on the North Shore while between 79 and 86 per cent of adults between 18 and 49 have received both shots. Rates of vaccination remain highest in adults over 50.

Provincially, 813 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Wednesday. A total of 340 people were in hospital with COVID, or COVID-related complications, while 146 people were in intensive care.

Hot spots continue to be in the Interior and Northern health regions, as well as in the eastern Fraser Valley.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province’s medical health officer, announced new restrictions on gatherings in the eastern Fraser Valley this week for any events that include unvaccinated people.

This week, Henry also called attention to a recent significant increase in COVID-19 cases among school-aged children 5 – 11 years old, who can’t yet be vaccinated. Henry noted those increases have been higher in communities with lower adult vaccination rates.

There has also been an increase in the numbers of children being tested she said, as other respiratory viruses have started to circulate more widely again in a way they didn’t last year.

According to the province, people who were not fully vaccinated recently made up 72 per cent of new cases and 81 per cent of people in hospital with COVID-19.

As of Wednesday, there were 324 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 157 in intensive care.