Island Health is seeing a consistently high number of cases of COVID-19 and more exposures in schools are predicted.
The south Island now has the “dubious distinction” of outpacing the central Island in the number of cases, said Island Health chief medical officer Dr. Richard Stanwick. On Tuesday, 339 active cases were reported on the Island of which the majority, 170, were in the south, 144 in the central region, and 25 in the north. Thirteen people were in Island hospitals with COVID-19.
Of additional concern, 1,162 people are in isolation and being monitored because of exposure to someone with COVID-19. For much of the last year, for each positive case of COVID-19 there were fewer than two contacts per person and that’s now at 4.3, said Stanwick.
“So this is somewhat reflective of where people are socializing more,” said Stanwick. “The concern of course is that … if this is done outside with the appropriate physical distancing this is seen as a safe activity but clearly a lot of these activities are, at least in the reports we’re getting, taking place under circumstances indoors and a lot closer than the two metres we’re recommending.”
The goal remains for every adult who wants one to receive a first dose of COVID‑19 vaccine by Canada Day, Stanwick said.
He said about 15 per cent of eligible people on the Island have been vaccinated, with more than 3,000 immunized on Monday.
In B.C. as of Tuesday afternoon, 724,193 doses of vaccines —Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII — have been administered, 87,319 of which were second doses.
The province extended its state of emergency and reported 840 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., including 39 new cases in Island Health.
Island Health officials are concerned about the number of residents who travelled during spring break to the Lower Mainland where the number of COVID-19 cases is higher and variants “much much more common,” the number of people who travelled to the Island and to small communities, including Tofino, possibly bringing the variants with them, and the amount of social gathering that took place.
Officials believe “it’s just a matter of time” before one of the variant strains will become the dominant one in the community.
It’s one of the many reasons for why provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry brought back some restrictions on Monday, ending indoor restaurant dining, suspending indoor faith services, and stopping all adult group fitness classes, said Stanwick.
“We want to get as many people vaccinated as possible because that’s the most effective way to slow down emergence of one of the variants which are going to be nasty; one of those are going to be nastier than the one we currently have,” Stanwick said.
The health authority warned schools of a possible increase in COVID-19 cases after spring break and emphasized the need to adhere to safety plans. Henry has asked for students down to Grade 4 to wear masks throughout the school day, including at their desks.
Eight seniors who had all been immunized tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak at the Longlake Chateau independent living facility in Nanaimo.
Stanwick said despite those residents becoming infected, “the most severe symptom was of a somewhat moderate cold” and prior to the vaccinations the fatality rate for COVID-19 patients in long-term care homes was 20 per cent.
