Number of patients in hospital with COVID-19 drops nearly 23% as B.C.'s downward trend continues

The number of patients in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19 continues to fall, according to the latest data from the province.

As of Wednesday, 325people with COVID-19 are in hospital, including 28in intensive care, according tothe B.C. COVID-19 dashboard.

That's a decrease of 22.8 per cent in overall hospitalizations from last Thursdaywhen the province reported 421people in hospital. The number of patients in the ICUis 31.7 per cent lowerthan a week ago.

The government says its weekly numbers are preliminary. It has been retroactively adjusting them due to delays in the count and the new way it measures weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The numbers released Thursday are part of a relatively recent change in approach from B.C. health officials, both in the move to weekly reporting and in how certain metrics are calculated.

Much of the data from the province is ina weekly report from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, which includes cases, hospital admissions and deaths although all of those numbers are at least five days old.

The province is reporting 43 deaths between May 29 and June 4. That number, which is being reported differently than in the past, includes all deaths of anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 30 days, whether or not the disease has been confirmed as a contributing factor.

The number of deaths is also likely to change significantly by next week.

During the last reporting period, the province said that 44people had died between May 22 and 28. That number now stands at61, an increase of 38.6 per cent.

This week's BCCDC report shows 895 new cases of COVID-19 were recordedbetween May 29 and June 4, a decline of about 23per cent from the 1,163reported the week before. The latest numbers, which arebased solely on lab-reported results, bring thetotal number of reported cases to 372,611.

Due to the limited availability oftesting, the province says the case count underestimates the actual number of people with COVID-19 in B.C. The results of at-home rapid tests are not included in the weekly numbers.

Positivity ratesdecreased or remained stable in all health authorities from May 22 to 28, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control's COVID-19 Situation Report,ranging from 11.5 per centin Northern Healthto 18.8 per centin Island Health.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has saidanything above a five per cent test-positivity rateindicates a more worrying level of transmission.

Wastewater data from the Fraser Health region show declines in viral loads.Annacis Island isdown 48 per cent from its peak six weeks ago, while viral loads innorthwest Langley have dropped 71 per cent from their peak five weeks ago.

Data from the Vancouver Coastal Health shows viral loads decreasing or stable, includinga 36 per cent dropat Iona Island following two weeks of increases and a 53 per cent declineat Lions Gate since a peak three weeks ago. Viral loads at Lulu Island continue to fall, down 18 per cent from the week before.