A map of B.C.’s Southern Interior regarding coronavirus statistics is beginning to resemble a quilt of many colours.
About a month ago, there were six subregions within Interior Health that had zero confirmed cases of COVID-19. Fast forward from that Dec. 26 report, and now there are 10 regions showing no confirmed cases.
However, balancing that out are rising caseloads in subregions where small numbers had previously been reported. For example, the Cariboo-Chilcotin shot up to 140 on Jan. 16 from just two confirmed cases on Dec. 26.
Other subregions that spiked in caseload totals include Kamloops (97 from 27); Salmon Arm (36 from 2); Penticton (31 from 11) and Fernie (20 from 2).
The Central Okanagan saw a decrease, as it fell from 214 to 139.
The subregions that currently have no confirmed cases are North Thompson, Lillooet, Princeton, Keremeos, Grand Forks, Castlegar, Trail, Creston, Kootenay Lake and Kimberley.
On Dec. 26, the six subregions that had no confirmed cases were South Cariboo, Princeton, Grand Forks, Golden, Arrow Lakes and Cranbrook.
On a larger scale, Interior Health’s five major regions all showed caseload growth during the first two weeks of January.
Normally, the Okanagan has been the de facto leader, primarily because it has Interior Health’s largest population. But from Jan. 1 to 14, the Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap had the largest growth, with 314 confirmed cases.
That was more than the Okanagan (222) and considerably more than the East Kootenay (24) and Kootenay-Boundary (7).
To put those 314 cases in perspective, that was more than South Vancouver Island (34), Richmond (69) and North Shore Coast Garibaldi (166) and on par with Fraser North (317). It was also fewer than Fraser East (368), Vancouver (479) and Fraser South (982).
In related news, Interior Health declared an outbreak on Friday at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
Interior Health said six patients and two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at unit Six South.
The health agency says Six South is a surgical unit, and patients with COVID-19 there have been relocated to a COVID unit.
Below are the data points for case totals for regions and subregions within Interior Health.
Number of cases per major region, from Jan. 1, 2020, to Jan. 14, 2021:
Note: Prior cases from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 in brackets
- Okanagan: 3,559 cases (2,956)
- Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap: 1,080 cases (600)
- East Kootenay: 229 cases (184)
- Kootenay Boundary: 187 cases (149)
Number of cases per major region, from Jan. 10-16:
Note: Prior cases from Jan. 1-7 in brackets
- Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap: 314 cases (127)
- Okanagan: 222 cases (303)
- East Kootenay: 24 cases (14)
- Kootenay Boundary: 7 cases (24)
Number of cases per subregion, from Jan. 10-16:
Note: Prior cases from Jan. 3-9 in brackets
- Cariboo-Chilcotin: 140 (31)
- Central Okanagan: 139 (110)
- Kamloops: 97 (62)
- Vernon: 59 (98)
- Salmon Arm: 36 (17)
- 100 Mile House: 24 (29)
- Fernie: 20 (3)
- South Okanagan: 19 (43)
- Revelstoke: 16 (16)
- Merritt: 15 (10)
- Penticton: 11 (13)
- Cranbrook: 7 (5)
- Armstrong: 5 (2)
- Kettle Valley: 4 (9)
- Summerland: 4 (7)
- Windermere: 3 (1)
- Nelson: 2 (10)
- Arrow Lakes: 1 (0)
- Enderby: 1 (3)
- Golden: 1 (7)
- South Cariboo: 1 (0)
- Castlegar: 0 (0)
- Creston: 0 (2)
- Keremeos: 0 (0)
- Lillooet: 0 (7)
- Princeton: 0 (0)
- Trail: 0 (1)
- Kimberley: 0 (0)
- Grand Forks: 0 (5)
- Kootenay Lake: 0 (1)
- North Thompson: 0 (4)
To view the B.C. Centre of Disease Control’s coronavirus statistics, click here.