COVID-19 case counts and test positivity in New Westminster have dropped dramatically over the past week.
Between June 5 and 11, New Westminster saw just eight new reported cases of COVID, according to the latest B.C. Centre for Disease Control data. That's down from 14 the week before.
Those numbers, as usual, do not reflect the total number of actual COVID cases in the city. Official public case counts are considered to be a vast undercount of COVID-19 cases in B.C., since the majority of people have not been eligible for testing since the beginning of 2022, when case counts shot up dramatically in the face of the original Omicron wave.
Provincewide, hospitalization data continues to show signs of optimism.
New data shows the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. fell for the fifth consecutive week, to 276 – the fewest since April 1.
Of those, 19 people were sick enough to need treatment in intensive care units (ICUs), which is also the fifth consecutive weekly decline. The last time there were this few COVID-19 patients in B.C. ICUs was on Aug. 3, more than 10 months ago, when there were also 19. The last time that this number was lower was on July 30, when there were 16 people sick enough to be in those wards.
(Data for hospitalizations reflects the period up until June 15.)
The one number that isn't falling, however, is the death count: Another 50 deaths were reported in the week ending June 11, up seven from the week before. (The total includes anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 within 30 days and then died.)
Test positivity rates fall in New West
Test positivity rates in New Westminster have fallen since last week, dropping from 12% to just 6%.
With that drop, New Westminster is now faring better than most neighbouring Metro Vancouver municipalities. In Burnaby, test positivity rates stand at 10% for the southeast, 12% for the southwest, 14% for the northwest and 16% for the northeast.
In the Tri-Cities, positivity rates range from 7% in north Coquitlam to 15% in Port Coquitlam, with southwest Coquitlam at 9%, southeast Coquitlam at 10% and Port Moody/Anmore Belcarra at 13%.
South of the river, Whalley's test positivity rate has dropped to 5%, with Guildford and North Surrey both at 11%.
Who can get a COVID-19 PCR test in B.C.?
Testing for COVID-19 is only available to those who meet the eligibility criteria.
According to the Fraser Health website, testing is recommended for people who have symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection and who fall into one of the following categories:
- People for whom testing is clinically indicated (people who are pregnant, hospitalized or moderately to severely immunocompromised).
- People with conditions that put them at high risk.
- People 70 years of age or older who are fully vaccinated, with three or more chronic conditions that increase the risk of severe illness or hospitalization.
- People 50 years of age and older who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and who have three or more chronic conditions that increase the risk of severe illness or hospitalization; or people 50 to 69 years of age who have not yet received their booster dose and have three or more chronic conditions that increase the risk of severe illness or hospitalization; or people age 70 years and older who have not yet received their booster dose and have one or more chronic conditions that increase the risk of severe illness or hospitalization.
- Individuals who self-identify as Indigenous.
- Individuals who live or work in high-risk settings.
Where can I get a COVID-19 rapid test in B.C.?
If you aren't eligible for public testing but you want to know if you have COVID-19, rapid antigen tests are available for free through participating community pharmacies for all adults aged 18+.
To find a New Westminster pickup point near you, check out this list by neighbourhood.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is not collecting reports of positive cases from at-home tests, so rapid test results are not reflected in official case counts or positivity numbers.
— with files from Glen Korstrom
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca.
