COVID-19 cases in B.C. hospitals, provincewide test positivity dip slightly

The number of COVID-19 cases in B.C. hospitals edged slightly downward this week as the province continues to grapple with an unusually difficult respiratory illness season.

As of Dec. 8, there were 359 positive cases in hospital, down 10 from the week prior, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. The number of cases in critical care fell by four to 34.

The province’s hospitalization model counts all cases in hospitals, regardless of the patient’s initial reason for admission.

For the second week in a row, technical issues resulted in the week’s COVID-19 data release being delayed by a day.

For the week ending Dec. 3, the province reported a mere 539 new cases, though this figure was derived based on the province’s extremely limited lab testing, which has been accessible only to people at the highest risk since last December.

B.C. conducted just 6,817 lab tests for that week. Test-positivity provincewide dipped to 9.8 per cent from 10.5 per cent the week prior.

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For the week ending Dec. 3, the BCCDC reported 140 hospital admissions, though that figure is preliminary and is typically revised by more than 20 per cent the following week.

Determining how many people are actually dying from COVID-19 also remains a major challenge given the available data.

Read more: B.C. health clinics offer walk-in flu shots and focus on children’s vaccinations

The BCCDC’s weekly report counted 17 fatalities, however, this number is fraught with caveats.

Like hospital admissions, it is typically revised upward the following week. But the figure counts anyone who died within 30 days of their first positive COVID-19 test, a metric the province admits significantly overcounts deaths.

Subsequent review of deaths reported this way since April has found about four in 10 were actually caused by COVID-19. That process takes at least eight weeks.

Of the 1,693 “COVID deaths” reported this way since the start of April, just 682 were found to have actually been caused by the virus, while 876 were from other causes and 135 remained under investigation.

The BCCDC’s latest situation report shows that 89 per cent of those COVID-19 deaths were among people aged 70 and older.

That same report confirmed at least 67 COVID-19 deaths between Sept. 11 and Oct. 8, an average of about 2.3 per day.