COVID-19: Cases fall 10% in B.C. hospitals, admissions hold flat

The number of COVID-19 cases in B.C. hospitals fell by about 10 per cent over the last week, as data shows hospital admissions holding steady.

As of Aug. 25, there were 331 positive cases in hospitals, down 35 over last Thursday, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). The number of patients in critical care climbed by seven to 29.

The province reports all positive cases in its hospitals, regardless of the reason a person was admitted.

The latest update on hospital data suggests B.C.’s third Omicron variant-driven wave continues to subside.

For the week ending Aug. 20, B.C. reported 737 new cases, however with testing heavily restricted, that number underestimates the true total. The province conducted 17,004 molecular tests that week.

Hospital admissions appeared to hold virtually flat for the week ending Aug. 20.

The BCCDC reported 180 COVID-positive admissions, however the data is preliminary and weekly admission data has been consistently revised with a significant increase.

For context, the BCCDC originally reported 181 COVID-19 hospital admissions between Aug. 7 and Aug. 13. That number has now been revised to 231, an increase of 27.6 per cent.

The number of people dying of COVI-19 remains challenging to track.

For the week ending Aug. 20, officials reported 33 deaths, but like hospital admissions, the figure is typically revised and increased the following week.

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However, B.C. counts all deaths that occur within 30 days of someone testing positive for COVID-19.

Subsequent BCCDC analysis showed an average of 43 per cent of deaths attributed to COVI-19 between April 9 and June 11 were found to have the virus as the underlying cause of death.

The independent B.C. COVID-19 Modelling Group, by contrast, has argued B.C. is “likely substantially undercounting deaths due to COVID.”

The group points to a significant increase in excess mortality, only half of which is explained by official data on COVI-19, the heat dome and B.C.’s toxic drug crisis.