Cases on the Sunshine Coast are continuing their single-digit trajectory, with two confirmed cases between March 14 and 20, according to data released by BC Centre for Disease Control.
The week before, five cases were confirmed, and six before that – prompting the Sunshine Coast COVID Physician Task Force to describe March as “a month of encouraging news.”
“Although our provincial case numbers have bumped up a little bit recently, our local numbers remain low at less than one new case per day,” said the statement, released March 23.
Good news has also emerged on the vaccine front this week, with the Task Force’s revelation that “the vast majority” of residents over the age of 80, and 90 per cent of Indigenous elders 65 and older, have been vaccinated.
Between March 14 and 20 alone, more than 1,400 doses were administered, with the total number of people immunized hitting 3,500. “If all goes well, we hope that all adults on the Sunshine Coast will be able to be immunized before July,” said the statement.
Long term care rules changing
Aside from increased protection from the disease, seniors in long-term care homes will begin to see additional benefits from the jab starting April 1.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced March 25 that next month “all residents [in long-term care or assisted living] will have regular, frequent, and routine opportunities for social visitation," for a minimum of one hour. Additionally, friends and family will also be able to visit their loved ones, including children. "We will be limiting the number of people, at any one time, to two visitors, plus a child, to allow for visits to grandparents and great grandparents," said Henry.
Changes within long-term care facilities are also coming: residents will be allowed to gather for communal dining and group activities.
"We're at a point where the benefits of having those social connections, and interactions, outweigh the risks, and we know that we can manage those risks, with the vast majority of residents, and staff, now being protected with vaccinations."
Numbers rise in Howe Sound, province
However among the general population on the Sunshine Coast, community-wide immunity remains a long way off, says the Task Force – and with numbers released March 26, that also appears true of the province.
One example includes the Howe Sound local health area, which includes Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish, where the number of cases more than doubled to 122 last week from 58 the week before.
The resort town of Whistler in particular has been dealing with high transmission rates among young adults in household settings this year, though Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) stopped providing local data for that area in early March.
At a March 25 media briefing, Henry said hospitalizations among young people in B.C. are increasing as variants of concern continue spreading.
Health officials detected 800 new infections in B.C. over the past 25 hours on March 25 – the highest number since December 2, when there were 834 cases detected. The next day, March 26, that number jumped again to 908. Three deaths related to the virus were reported, bringing the total to 1,449 deaths.
As of Friday, 637,856 residents of B.C. have received at least their first dose of vaccine.
While restrictions have relaxed to allow people to gather outside in groups of up to 10 people Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix advised in a March 26 joint statement that “seeing different friends on different days – even if we are outside – is unsafe. So is gathering in our homes where the layers of protection, like physical barriers and masks, are not used.”
As those restrictions remain in effect, the Ministry of Public Safety announced March 25 that fines for promoting and attending gatherings that break public health orders have more than doubled to $575 from $230.
“Over the last several months, it’s become clear that for some, the risk of a $230 violation ticket isn’t enough to deter attendance at events that violate the PHO order,” public safety minister Mike Farnworth in a release.
On the Sunshine Coast, people who were born in 1951 or earlier, Indigenous people born in 1966 or earlier can make an appointment for a vaccination.
Starting March 29 at noon, people deemed “clinically extremely vulnerable” who have received a patient invitation letter will also be eligible to book. Patient letters should arrive by April 15, according to VCH.
The call centre is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The number is: 1-877-587-5767
- with files from Glen Korstrom and Brandon Barrett
