New COVID-19 cases in New Westminster have started climbing again after a recent significant drop.
The latest data from the BC Centre for Disease Control show New Westminster had a total of 60 new cases between Dec. 27, 2020, and Jan. 2, 2021.
That’s a small rise from the 55 cases reported from Dec. 20-26, but down compared to 85 new COVID-19 cases during the period of Dec. 13-19.
Overall in December, New West had 343 new COVID-19 cases. By comparison, there were 94 cases New West in all of October and 71 cases in September. New West has had 967 cases between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has noted that it is crucial for people to remain vigilant in following health orders, since part of the reason for the drop in numbers has been a similar decline in people seeking COVID tests prior to the holidays - perhaps in an attempt to avoid having to change plans around Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
B.C. on January 6 reported that it has a record 381 people in hospitals with COVID-19 infections, with 78 of those people sick enough to be in intensive care units. The province also recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 infections in a 24-hour period so far this year, as 625 people are newly battling the virus.
While this is sobering news that the virus remains prevalent in the province, there is a silver lining with signs of success in combatting the pandemic. The 6,343 people actively fighting infections in B.C. is the lowest number since November 16, when 6,279 people had yet to see an end to their illness. There were also 5,456 people who were immunized in the past day – a daily record. In total, 33,665 British Columbians have been vaccinated since the first vaccinations started on December 16.
There were eight new fatalities in the past 24 hours, for a total of 962 people who have died from the virus since the first such death on March 9.
More than 84.5% (46,728) of the 55,254 people who have been infected with the virus in B.C. have so far recovered, while 8,719 people are under active monitoring by health officials because they have had known contact with someone who has tested positive for the disease.
- With files from Glen Korstrom, Glacier Media
