Rate of hospitalizations begins to slow as B.C. reports 990 people in hospital with COVID-19
CBC
B.C. health officials reported 990 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, including 141 in intensive care, as the province recorded nine more deaths from the disease and 2,137 new cases.
The new numbers represent an increase of 13 COVID-19 patients hospitalized within the last 24 hours. There was no change in the number of people in the ICU.
Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are up seven per cent from last Friday, when 924 people were in hospital with the disease.
Due to a data reporting change introduced Jan. 14, month-to-month hospitalization comparisons won't be available again until Feb. 14.
The number of patients in intensive care is up by about eight per cent from 130 a week ago and by 53 per cent from a month ago when 66 people were in the ICU.
Experts say hospitalizations are a more accurate barometer of the disease's impact, as new case numbers in B.C. are likely much higher than reported, now that the province has hit its testing limit because of the Omicron surge.
As of Thursday, 21.6 per cent of COVID-19 tests in B.C. are coming back positive, according to the province's COVID-19 dashboard.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said that anything above a five per cent test-positivity rate indicates a concerning level of community transmission.
There are currently 30,515 recorded active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in B.C.
The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is now 2,597 lives lost out of 321,043 confirmed cases to date.
There are a total of 58 active outbreaks in assisted living, long-term, and acute care facilities.
Acute care outbreaks include:
As of Friday, 89.8 per cent of those five and older in B.C. had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 83.8 per cent a second dose.
A total of 2,031,592 people have received a booster shot to date.
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