COVID-19 test positivity and case counts are continuing the downward slide in New Westminster – and generally around Metro Vancouver.
The latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (for the week of Feb. 22 to 28) shows test positivity at 13% in New Westminster, continuing a six-week downward trend from 46% to 41% to 37% to 28% to 19% last week – indicating that the city may be past the worst of the Omicron-driven fifth wave of the pandemic.
Multiple areas of the Lower Mainland continue to show test positivity at under 20%; just a few weeks ago, many regions were showing rates north of 40%. A handful of areas around Metro Vancouver have test positivity of 10% or less, including Killarney and Mount Pleasant at 10%, North Vancouver City (East) at 8%, Downtown Eastside at 7% and Victoria-Fraserview at 4%.
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 21 cases between Feb. 22 and 28, for a daily rate of 4 per 100,000 people. That's down from 36 new cases between Feb. 15 and 21, for a daily rate of 6 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, remains encouraging. This week marks a new low count for New Westminster since B.C. started significantly restricting access for testing. The past eight weeks have seen a declining trend in New Westminster – 303, 206, 214, 155, 106, 63, 36 and now 21 – 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.
Email Julie, [email protected].
