COVID-19 hospitalizations down 15%, while number of people in intensive care ticks upwards

COVID-19 hospitalizations were down this week, but the number of patients in critical care rose, according to data provided by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control in its latest weekly update.

The BCCDC reported 228 people with COVID-19 in hospital Thursday — a decrease of nearly 15 per cent from the week before — and 22 people in critical care, up from 17 last week.

As of Jan. 21, the province says there were 27 new deaths reported among those who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 30 days, the same number reported last week. 

A total of 5,061 people in British Columbia are believed to have died of causes linked to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

B.C. reported 408 new cases as of Jan. 21, down 27 per cent from the 560 reported the week before and more than 38 per cent lower than the 661 cases reported two weeks ago.

The number of deaths, hospitalizations and reported COVID-19 cases can all be revised retroactively, as updated data from regional health authorities is submitted to the BCCDC and the provincial Health Ministry.

The BCCDC says that over a four-week span from Dec. 25 to Jan. 21, the average number of daily hospital admissions has decreased from approximately 35 to 15, while the number of new critical care admissions has remained relatively stable, averaging two to eight per day.

B.C. is now testing wastewater at sites in Kelowna, Kamloops, Penticton, Victoria, Comox and Nanaimo. The BCCDC said Thursday that wastewater tests for SARS-CoV-2 differ by geography but were relatively stable or declining.

The BCCDC says the number of cases of flu continues to decline after an earlier-than-usual peak of influenza in November.