Coronavirus: Okanagan stats show slow decline in number of confirmed cases

In the Okanagan, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose during the last week of January, but the jump wasn’t anywhere near December’s stats.

Data from the B.C. Centre of Disease Control shows that the Okanagan had 152 cases between Jan. 22 and 28.

That’s down from 173 confirmed cases from Jan. 15-21, and well below the 371 cases from Dec. 4-10, and 375 cases from Dec. 11-17.

The case totals started dropping during the holiday season, and the slide has generally continued, though there was a big bump during the first week of January.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Dr. Albert de Villiers, medical health officer for Interior Health, when asked if the falling numbers are a trend.

“It looks like a positive trend at this stage. Having said that, our peak was from the end of November to the middle of December, and then it came down – over Christmas, technically, there were fewer cases.

“And then a week or so after Christmas, it started picking up again. But now it’s coming down again.”

De Villiers said “so, yes, I’m cautiously optimistic if we actually stick to the rules and to the current guidelines and all the orders from Dr. Bonnie Henry. Hopefully, this trend will go in the right direction.”

• Oct. 30 to Nov. 12: 144 cases
• Nov. 13-26: 420 cases
• Nov. 20 to Dec. 3: 597 cases
• Dec. 4-10: 371 cases
• Dec. 11-17: 375 cases
• Dec. 18-24: 290 cases
• Dec. 25-31: 210 cases
• Jan. 1-7: 303 cases
• Jan. 8-14: 222 cases
• Jan. 15-21: 173 cases
• Jan. 22-28: 152 cases

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On Wednesday, health officials announced 63 new cases for the Interior Health region, with the number of confirmed deaths remaining at 75.

There were 992 active cases within Interior Health, along with 49 people in hospital, including 20 in critical care.

Since the pandemic began, the total number of cases for Interior Health was listed at 6,459, with 5,381 having recovered.

Number of cases per major region, from Jan. 1, 2020 to Jan. 28, 2021:

Note: Prior cases from Jan. 1, 2020, to Jan. 21, 2021, in brackets

• Okanagan: 3,884 cases (3,735)
• Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap: 1,719 cases (1,419)
• East Kootenay: 348 cases (289)
• Kootenay Boundary: 200 cases (196)

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Number of cases per major region between Jan. 22-28:

Note: Prior cases from Jan. 15-21 in brackets

• Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap: 307 cases (336)
• Okanagan: 152 cases (173)
• East Kootenay: 61 cases (55)
• Kootenay Boundary: 4 cases (6)

Number of cases per subregion or local health authority, from Jan. 24-30:

Note: Prior cases from Jan. 17-23 in brackets

• Kamloops: 117 (124)
• Central Okanagan: 77 (65)
• Cariboo-Chilcotin: 72 (120)
• Vernon: 45 (59)
• Fernie: 29 (44)
• Salmon Arm: 26 (55)
• Merritt: 24 (15)
• Revelstoke: 12 (2)
• Penticton: 11 (9)
• Armstrong: 7 (5)
• Enderby: 7 (11)
• 100 Mile House: 6 (13)
• Keremeos: 6 (0)
• Cranbrook: 4 (9)
• South Cariboo: 4 (3)
• Windermere: 4 (2)
• South Okanagan: 3 (6)
• Kettle Valley: 2 (2)
• Kimberley: 2 (2)
• Nelson: 2 (0)
• Summerland: 2 (1)
• Golden: 1 (8)
• Lillooet: 1 (1)
• Arrow Lakes: 1 (0)
• Creston: 1 (0)
• North Thompson: 1 (0)
• Castlegar: 0 (0)
• Grand Forks: 0 (0)
• Kootenay Lake: 0 (0)
• Princeton: 0 (1)
• Trail: 0 (1)

To view the B.C. Centre of Disease Control’s coronavirus statistics, click here.

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