Between Dec. 5 and 11, there were three new cases of COVID-19 reported on the Sunshine Coast.
This represents a slight increase from two consecutive weeks of one new case of the virus.
The same week, the Howe Sound area reported 20 new cases – down from 40 the previous week – and Powell River had nine new cases.
Provincially, cases are on the rise. On Dec. 15, B.C. reached an almost six-week high and 584 new infections within 24 hours. As of Dec. 12, there were 44 cases of the Omicron variant in B.C. Since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in B.C. in January 2020, 97.3 per cent of people who had the virus have recovered. The pandemic’s death toll in B.C. is 2,393.
On the Sunshine Coast, vaccination rates continue to rise. More than half – 58 per cent – of Coasters 70 and older have received their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as of Dec. 13.
In the youngest category eligible for an immunization against the virus, 24 per cent of local kids five to 11 years old have had their first shot.
Those in the 12 to 17 and the 18 to 49 age categories now have the same immunization rate: 84 per cent for the first dose and 79 per cent for a second. Of eligible recipients 12 and older, 89 per cent of Coasters have had one dose and 86 per cent have had two.
The latest report shows the percentage of people 50 and older who have received an immunization against COVID-19 is still at 92 per cent for one jab and 90 per cent for both.
– With files from Glen Korstrom/Glacier Media
