COVID case counts remain high on North Shore

The number of new COVID cases on the North Shore continues to be high.

There were 162 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending March 20, according to information released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, up ever-so-slightly from the 157 cases per week recorded in the previous two weeks.

The number of new cases is the highest it’s been since December on the North Shore.

Of the new cases reported in the past week, 124 cases were in North Vancouver and 38 cases were in West Vancouver.

That puts the rate of new infections in West Vancouver at between five and 10 daily cases per 100,000 people. In North Vancouver, the infection rate is between 10 and 15 daily cases per 100,000.

Rates of infection on the North Shore are similar to other communities in the Lower Mainland where cases have remained high during the past month and have begun to creep up in recent weeks.

Whistler cases spike again

COVID infections in the Whistler area also appear to have spiked again. There were 122 new cases in Whistler and the surrounding area for the week ending March 20, which includes the first week of spring break, when the resort community has seen many out-of-town visitors. That’s as high as it’s been since January, when over 700 cases were recorded in the community, and four times the number of cases recorded in Whistler in the previous week.

The increase in Whistler area COVID infections also comes as Vancouver Coastal Health has begun vaccinations of young workers in Whistler Blackcomb staff housing and in high-density living situations as part of its plan to target workplace outbreaks.

Numbers of COVID cases continue to be low in other parts of the North Shore-Coast Garibaldi health region. There were two cases reported on the Sunshine Coast and two cases reported in Powell River in the week ending March 20.

Surrey remains a hot spot in the Lower Mainland, with 946 cases reported in the past week.

Positivity rates for COVID-19 tests are now hovering just under eight per cent in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province’s medical health officer, has said recently the virus is being spread primarily by younger adults and through small social gatherings and workplaces.

Adults 20-49 make up over half of all COVID cases

Adults 20-49 years of age made up 57 per cent of all COVID cases in BC, as well as 57 per cent of the British variant cases, according to the BC CDC.

With more cases being reported in younger people, the number of younger people being hospitalized has increased, Henry said on Monday.

“What we're seeing is ... younger age groups are requiring hospitalization, and needing to be in hospital for longer periods of time. And it is those people who are now dying from this. We have seen several young people in their 30s and 40s, who've unfortunately, tragically, been severely affected by COVID,” said Henry.

The median age of hospitalization from COVID has dropped to 63 and the median age of death from COVID has dropped to 70, according to the BC CDC. Half of deaths are occurring in people under 70.

B.C. had recorded a total of 93,969 of coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, with 5,573 active cases, an increase of over 700 active cases from the previous week. In the Vancouver Coastal Health region, there were 1,612 cases – an increase of over 340 from the previous week.