Number of North Shore COVID cases remains low

The number of new COVID cases remains low on the North Shore as vaccination rates hit between 78 and 86 per cent for those 12 and older.

The number of cases this week is about the same as last week in North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

There were 11 new cases of the virus reported for the North Shore for the week ending June 16, compared to 12 cases reported the week previously.

Of the new COVID cases reported this week, eight are in North Vancouver and three are in West Vancouver.

Similar patterns in case counts have been seen in communities throughout most of the Lower Mainland, with the number of new infections either continuing to decline or leveling off at low numbers in areas like Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Vancouver and the Tri-Cities.

Detailed data from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows those occasional cases popping up in the City of North Vancouver and upper area of West Vancouver. Daily rates of infection were between zero and two daily cases per 100,000 in the past week.

Among those tested for COVID-19 on the North Shore, positivity rates ranged from zero to one per cent with only the eastern part of the city showing a positivity rate of two per cent.

The District of North Vancouver has one of the top five overall vaccination rates in the province, with 86 per cent of those 12 and over having received one dose. Vaccinations rates for those over 18 are between 79 and 87 per cent on the North Shore, with rates among people 50 and over in the District of North Vancouver at over 90 per cent. Vaccination rates among those 18 to 49 are between 73 and 84 per cent.

Those vaccination rates appear to also be leveling off in recent weeks.

The continuing low case counts are being reported as B.C. launches into a much more near-normal re-opening July 1 which includes ending limits on personal indoor and outdoor gatherings, ending of travel restrictions, and lifting of mandatory mask-wearing requirements in public spaces.