Coronavirus: Burnaby positivity, case rates stay idle as B.C. sees surge continue

Burnaby COVID-19 positivity, case rates refuse to drop

Cases and hospitalizations continue to increase daily across B.C.

A drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Burnaby.Jennifer Gauthier, Burnaby NOW

While hospitalizations and cases continue to increase provincially, Burnaby's positivity and case rates remain steady.

According to the updated COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, between Aug. 24 and 30, 2021, all four Burnaby quadrants have stayed roughly the same since the last reporting period from Aug. 17 to 31, 2021.

The data is released by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).

During updated modelling yesterday (Aug. 31) presented by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, the pandemic in B.C. is mostly among the unvaccinated.

Perhaps the most striking set of statistics includes data from mid-to-late August, which showed that people who are unvaccinated are:
• 12 times more likely to contract COVID-19 than those who have had two vaccine doses
• 34 times more likely to land in hospital with COVID-19 than those who have had two vaccine doses
• Eight times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who have had two vaccine doses

The other key lesson in new government data is that older people continue to be more susceptible to serious bouts of COVID-19, and to die from the illness. The 80-to-90 age group saw 11 deaths between July 30 and August 26. The second highest age group for deaths was for those aged between 70 and 79 years, which had seven deaths.

Data from July 30 through August 26 also showed that among people who were younger than 60 years old, no one who was fully vaccinated died from COVID-19. In contrast, among the partially vaccinated, there was one person younger than 60 years old who died from COVID-19 in that time period. That person was in the 40-to-49 age group.

Among the unvaccinated, there were six people who were younger than 60 years old who died from COVID-19 between July 30 and August 26. Of those, five were in the 50-to-59 age group, and one was in the 40-to-49 age group. This is despite most British Columbians being fully vaccinated during this time frame.

Despite these heightened calls for people to get vaccinated, vaccinations have declined considerably. Part of the reason is that the vast majority of British Columbians are already fully vaccinated. Another is that large vaccination clinics, such as the one at the Vancouver Convention Centre, have closed. Smaller pop-up vaccination centres are increasingly being used.

Burnaby's latest regional numbers for Aug. 24 to 30, 2021, are as follows. Case rates are new cases per 100,000 people by local health area and community health service area.

BURNABY NORTHWEST