COVID-19-related hospitalizations drop nearly 10% in 1 day, but province records 18 more deaths
CBC
B.C. health officials reported 893 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Wednesday, including 143 in intensive care, as the province recorded 18 more deaths from the disease and 1,187 new cases.
The new numbers represent 93 fewer COVID-19 patients hospitalized or a nearly 10 per cent decrease within the last 24 hours, as well as three fewer patients in the ICU.
Overall hospitalizations, which typically lag behind spikes and dips in new cases, are also down by 10 per cent from last Wednesday, when 988 people were in hospital with the disease.
Deaths also lag cases so higher numbers are a reflection of Omicron's surge last month.
Due to a data reporting change introduced Jan. 14, month-to-month hospitalization comparisons won't be available again until Feb. 14.
The number of patients in intensive care is up by about five per cent from 136 a week ago and up by 50 per cent from a month ago when 95 people were in the ICU.
Experts say hospitalizations are a more accurate barometer of the disease's impact, as new case numbers in B.C. are likely much higher than reported, now that the province has hit its testing limit because of the Omicron surge.
Currently, B.C. has 21,974 active cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus.
The provincial death toll from COVID-19 is 2,725 lives lost out of 336,229 confirmed cases to date.
There are a total of 54 active outbreaks in assisted living, long-term, and acute care facilities.
Acute care outbreaks include:
As of Wednesday, 90.3 per cent of those five and older in B.C. had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 84.8 per cent a second dose.
From Feb. 1-7, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 24.3% of cases. From Jan. 25 to Feb. 7, they accounted for 31.0% of hospitalizations.
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