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The number of new COVID-19 infections is continuing to drop on the North Shore.
The official number of new cases (which measure only a small subset of those the most vulnerable people infected) was 57 between May 29 and June 4. That’s down from 75 cases recorded by B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control two weeks ago and the 89 cases reported the week before that.
Of the cases reported in the last week, 42 cases were in North Vancouver and 15 were in West Vancouver.
Although the PCR testing that results in those official case counts is done for only a small number of people, it is considered an indicator of more general trends.
The BA.2 and BA2-12 variant of Omicron continue to make up most cases of the virus in Vancouver Coastal Health, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, although other Omicron variants including BA2.3 are also present.
Hospitalizations fall in VCH
Hospitalizations in Vancouver Coastal Health – which also includes hospitals in Vancouver, Richmond, the Sunshine Coast and Sea-to-Sky Corridor – are also down this week with 82 people in hospital as of June 9. That’s dropped from the 109 people in hospital with COVID two weeks before.
Four of those people were in critical care – down from 10 two weeks ago. There were also nine new COVID-19-related deaths in the past week in VCH. The majority of deaths continue to be in people over 80, according to the BCCDC, although there have also been a smaller number of COVID-19 deaths among those between 60 and 79.
Wastewater concentrations decline
The most recent reporting of wastewater data showing COVID-19 concentrations at the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant shows levels of the virus there are also slowly declining.
The most recent samples included concentrations of 33,441 viral parts per litre on May 30 40,174 on May 28 – down from 55,175 viral parts per litre on May 23.
Although wastewater concentrations don't measure the number of people infected with COVID-19 directly, they are considered one of the more accurate barometers of overall infection levels in communities, as they pick up viral signals from people who have tested positive on rapid tests at home but who are not part of official case counts.
At the peak of the Omicron wave at the beginning of the year, viral concentrations measured 333,000 parts per litre at the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant.
Vax rates stalled
Vaccination rates among both adults and children on the North Shore haven’t budged for months.
Between 92 and 96 per cent of adults on the North Shore have had two doses of vaccine, and between 67 and 71 per cent have received a booster shot – higher than the provincial average.
Vaccination rates for children stalled much lower. Between 58 and 68 per cent of children five to 11 on the North Shore have received two doses of COVID vaccine.
The ICBC site vaccine clinic remains open for children aged five to 11, while adults are now being directed to local pharmacies for their shots.
In April, seniors in long-term care and those deemed clinically vulnerable were offered a fourth dose of vaccine.
1 in 5 on North Shore say they've had COVID
According to a recent poll by the North Shore News, one in five people on the North Shore say they’ve had COVID-19. And an additional one in 10 say they probably had it, but they don’t know for sure as no testing was available when they were sick.
The percentage of North and West Vancouver residents who say they've likely had the virus is actually lower than the percentage of people provincewide who health officials say have had COVID.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's health officer, said in April that about half of all British Columbians have been infected by the COVID-19 virus. That information came from a study done by the BC Centre for Disease Control that examined blood samples from Life Labs for antibodies to the virus.
