The BC Centre for Disease Control chart above shows B.C.'s epidemic curve is rising fast.
The curve is bending the wrong way in B.C., as shown in the graph above. B.C. was extremely successful in bending its covid-19 curve downward this spring, but this summer cases are surging and the curve is going up.
Covid-19 cases are up 40 per cent this week in B.C., with a total of 551 new cases reported in the past seven days, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported. Again, most of those cases were found in people aged 20 to 39. Specifically, 31 per cent of new cases were in people aged 20 to 29 and 23 per cent of new cases were in people aged 30-39. The average age for all cases fell two years this week, from 44 to 42, which shows new cases are heavily skewed to the younger folks.
Two hundred people have died, which gives a death rate of four per cent of the total 4,825 cases since the pandemic began. Fortunately, hospitalizations remain low.
B.C. and Alberta are now the provinces with the most new daily cases proportionate to their population, as shown in the graph below.
Last week, B.C. was at 82 cases per 100,000 population since the beginning of the pandemic. This week that number jumped to 92.
Globally, when looking at new daily case rates per population, B.C. is above Italy and about even with the United Kingdom. The province is still well below the United States and Brazil.
To stop the rapid rise in cases among young people, Premier John Horgan asked celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen to help him spread the word that partying with people you don't know is dangerous right now. They both responded.
But even with celebrity endorsement, partiers were undeterred. Police had to break up a large group with an impromptu DJ on Vancouver's Granville Street on Saturday night.
Here are some other changes and events this week:
- Five hundred and fifty people might have been exposed to covid-19 at a Toronto strip club, officials warned. The exposure was between August 4 and August 8.
- In B.C., the list of flights and other public exposures continues to grow.
- The battle over back-to-school continues around the world. Vancouver has released its plan, which for secondary schools is a hybrid of online and in-person learning with classes of no more than 15 students. Elementary school classes will all be in person and class sizes are unchanged, although the district is advocating with the province for some way to allow physical distancing in elementary classrooms.
- In Europe, Britain brought in a 14-day quarantine period for everyone returning from France and the Netherlands, which prompted many vacationers to rush home to England before the deadline hit.
- There were long line ups at the covid-19 drive through testing stations in Metro Vancouver.
- The Canadian Football League has cancelled its 2020 season due to covid-19.
- Some countries around the world, including Mexico, are using television broadcasts as a stand in for in-class education.
- New Zealand is postponing its national election due to an outbreak of covid-19. New Zealand went 100 days without a case, before a largely unexplained outbreak.
- The Canadian federal government made several changes to the employment insurance program as it transitions people off of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The changes include a new program for people who are self employed and a lower threshold of number of weeks to qualify for employment insurance.
- There’s good news on the immunity front, with scientists finding evidence that suggests immunity to covid-19 is strong, even in mild cases.
- The World Health Organization spoke out against “vaccine nationalism” this week, saying, “no one is safe until everyone is safe” from covid-19. The WHO is working on recommendations for the fair use of a vaccine, including such things as whether all countries should get equal access and a consideration of giving health care workers and people in high risk groups the first access to a vaccine.
Strong immunity and guidelines for a vaccine – this has overall been a positive week in the battle against covid-19. Let’s hope for more positive news next week.
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