B.C. reports 30 more COVID-19 related deaths in a week as hospitalizations continue to decline

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 continuedto decline across B.C. in 2023, but the province reported 30 more deaths believed to be linked to the virus in a weekly update provided by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

On Thursday, the BCCDCsaid there were 204 people hospitalized with the coronavirus, down just over 10 per cent from the week prior, and 23 people in critical care, an increase of one from the preceding week.

The province says as of Jan. 28, there were 30 new deaths reported among people who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 30 days.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,106 people in B.C. are believed to have died of COVID-related causes.

The number of deaths, hospitalizations and reported COVID-19 cases are oftenrevised retroactively, as the latest data from regional health authorities is submitted to the BCCDC and the provincial Health Ministry.

For the week of Jan. 15 to 21, the number of deaths among people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 30 dayswas revised upward from 27 to 40. Deaths reported during the week of Jan. 8 to 14 were also retroactively increased, from 27 to 49.

As of Jan. 28, the province says there were 293 new, confirmed cases, a decrease of 28 per cent from last week and an almost 48 percent drop from two weeks ago.

Over the four weeks covering Jan. 1 to 28, the BCCDCsaid the 7-day rolling average for COVID-19 cases was relatively stable, and the number of new hospital admission decreased from approximately 38 to 10.

The centre says critical care admissions and the number of deaths within 30 days of a first positive SARS-CoV-2 test have remained stable, though the province is averaging fourto seven deaths per day.

The BCCDC did not provide any updated information on wastewater testing in its latest report.

B.C. is now testing wastewater at sites in Kelowna, Kamloops, Penticton, Victoria, Comox and Nanaimo, and data from those sites should be analyzed and available in the coming weeks.

Flu numbers fall

TheBCCDCalso saysthe number of flucases has continued to declinesincean earlier-than-usual peak of influenza in November.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) positivity ratesremained stableat 13%, it said, but higher than the historical average of 8.8 per cent for this time of year.