COVID-19 case counts and test positivity in New Westminster have jumped significantly over the past week, rising to numbers not seen since mid-February.
Between April 17 and 23, the city saw 36 new cases of COVID-19 in the official public count – a 63.6% jump over the previous week, when 22 cases were recorded.
This week's update marks the highest official case count since the week of Feb. 15 to 21, which also saw 36 cases.
B.C. continues to feel the effects of the sixth wave of COVID-19, driven by the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant. As of the latest B.C. Centre for Disease Control data, 100% of the positive COVID cases being sequenced in British Columbia are Omicron, with the BA.2 sub-variant and its sub-lineages BA.2.12 and BA.2.3 making up most of those cases.
Provincewide, COVID-driven hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths have all risen in the past week.
The data up until yesterday shows there are now 570 people in B.C. hospitals who have tested positive for the virus, up by 85 from the 485 hospitalized COVID-19 patients one week ago. Of those, 47 are in ICUs, up from 38 one week ago.
Local breakdowns aren't available for hospital data, so it's unknown how many of New Westminster's 36 new cases, if any, involve hospitalizations or critical care admissions.
Officially recorded case counts, of course, are not reflective of the actual number of COVID-19 cases in the city, since the vast 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. But New Westminster's trend line had generally been on a downward trajectory until last week – meaning that, among the small group of people actually eligible for official PCR testing, cases are now on the rise again.
As of the latest BCCDC COVID data, test positivity in New Westminster stood at 26% – a huge jump from 14% the week before.
New Westminster now has a higher positivity rate than most of its neighbouring areas.
Burnaby's test positivity rates are lower in three of that city's four quadrants: 16% in the northwest, 19% in the southwest and 22% in the northeast. Only the southeast, with a positivity rate of 31%, is higher than New Westminster
Rates in the Tri-Cities range from 14% in the southeast to 26% in the southwest, with Port Moody/Anmore/Belcarra coming in at 20%, North Coquitlam at 22% and Port Coquitlam at 23%.
South of the river, Surrey has also seen some test positivity increases as well, though not as high as New Westminster's: North Surrey is at 21%, Whalley at 21% and Guildford at 22%.
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 (as of an April 26 update), 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.
Students in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools around B.C. have also been given one five-test kit apiece through their schools.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is no longer 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, [email protected].
