The Omicron wave seems to be on a downward trend across Metro Vancouver.
New local data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control suggests the COVID-19 situation in New Westminster and other Lower Mainland municipalities is moving in the right direction.
COVID-19 test positivity has dropped to 19% in New Westminster, continuing a month-long downward trend from 46% to 41% to 37% to 28% last week.
Multiple areas of the Lower Mainland are now showing test positivity at under 20%, just a couple of weeks after many regions were showing rates north of 40%. In fact, several areas are now showing test positivity in the single digits – including South Langley at 6%, Pitt Meadows at 8%, Vancouver Fairview at 7%, Downtown Eastside at 6% and the West End at 8%.
However, local test positivity still remains significantly higher than at previous points in the pandemic, before the Omicron wave. As late as December, test positivity in New Westminster remained in the single digits.
New Westminster's official case count is also continuing to drop, with the data showing 36 cases between Feb. 15 and 21, for a daily rate of 6 per 100,000 people. That's down from 63 new cases between Feb. 8 and 14, for a daily rate of 11 per 100,000 people.
That number is not reflective of the actual number of COVID-19 cases in the city, since the vast majority of people are no longer eligible for testing.
The trend line, however, is encouraging. This is the lowest number of cases since B.C. started significantly restricting access for testing. The past six weeks have seen a declining trend in New Westminster – 303, 206, 214, 155, 106, 63 – among the narrow band of people who are, in fact, eligible for COVID tests.
Who qualifies for COVID-19 testing in B.C.?
Testing is recommended for people who have symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection and meet one of the following criteria:
- people for whom testing is clinically indicated (people who are pregnant, hospitalized or moderately to severely immunocompromised);
- people 60 years of age and older who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated;
- people less than 60 years of age who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and are clinically extremely vulnerable;
- individuals who self-identify as Indigenous;
- individuals who live or work in high-risk settings.
More details and links for test booking can be found at the Fraser Health website.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
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