With B. C. au amid another wave of COVID-19 infections, the number of patients hospitalized with the disease has increased over the past two weeks. However, the accumulation was not distributed slightly among the regions.
The Center for Disease Control shows that the number of patients who tested positive at the hospital rose from 273 on June 30 to 369 the following week and 426 on Thursday. This represents a cumulative of about 56% in hospitalizations in two weeks.
The highest percentage of hospitalizations has occurred in the Fraser Health Region, which is the province’s most populous.
But while Fraser Health saw an increase in the number of other people hospitalized with COVID-19 from June 30 to July 7, the number decreased from July 7 to Thursday. There were 121 COVID patients in the region as of June 30, which rose to 172 the following week, before falling to 157 last week, representing a net accumulation of 30% over the two-week period.
All other regional fitness governments saw their hospitalized populations grow between July 7 and last week, some increasing more dramatically than others.
Vancouver Coastal Health had the current number of hospitalizations, with another 102 people hospitalized Thursday. That’s an increase from 82 on July 7 and 66 on June 30, a 55% increase over the two weeks.
Island Health went from another 49 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on June 30 to 55 on July 7 and then to 89 last week. That’s an 82% increase in two weeks.
Interior Health saw its hospital census nearly double over the same period, from 25 on June 30 to 36 on July 7 and 49 on Thursdays, a 96% increase.
However, the highest percentage of accumulation occurred in the least populated fitness authority, which has the fewest inpatients. Northern Health saw its overall buildup of just seven patients 3 weeks ago, to 18 on July 7 and 26 last week. That’s nearly quadrupling in two weeks, for the total number of hospitalizations recorded in the region since April.
This graph shows the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in British Columbia’s five regional fitness governments on Thursdays since April 22. (CTV)
The newest regional coveralls fit the overall total of 426, as COVID-19 patients in Provincial Health Services Authority services are reported across the region on the BCCDC COVID-19 dashboard. The regional coveralls are 423, implying that there were 3 COVID-19 patients in PHSA services on Thursday.
Hospitalization figures in British Columbia include both those admitted to hospital for a serious illness from COVID-19 and those who are hospitalized for other reasons and who test positive.
Since the province began counting hospitalizations in this way, instead of looking for classification and reporting only hospitalizations caused by COVID-19, there have been as many as 985 patients hospitalized on a Thursday, across the province, and only 255.