This map, from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows the rate and number of new covid-19 cases in Metro Vancouver over the past two weeks.
The world marked one million deaths from the novel coronavirus this week, a grim milestone. More than 34 million people have tested positive with covid-19 since it emerged in late 2019 and there is now a resurgence in Europe and Canada. Eastern Canada is being hit particularly hard and Quebec has started a second shut-down, closing bars, casinos, museums, libraries and other gathering places. Of course, here in B.C., casinos have never reopened since the first shutdown and nightclubs were shut down again in September. Bars and pubs had their hours reduced.
In B.C., we had 677 new cases this week, down from 880 last week. Dr. Bonnie Henry is reluctant to say we’ve flattened the curve yet again, instead admitting she feels cautiously optimistic, but still acknowledging the numbers could surge again.
Schools are open in B.C. for in-person learning, and after some initial confusion it appears all health authorities are reporting all cases where a person who tests positive is in a school during their infectious period. More than 55 such instances have been reported in the three weeks since schools opened, but Dr. Henry says there have been no outbreaks. She acknowledges there may have been some transmission in schools, but no ongoing transmission, which would be defined as an outbreak.
Parsing the most recent data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows that 122 children under age 10 tested positive this week for covid-19. That’s a disproportionate increase compared to that demographic’s overall percentage of the population. The only other age group showing a disproportionate increase is young adults, aged 20 to 29. Overall, however, the number of children under 10 infected with covid-19 since January is still disproportionately low. And no children under age 19 have been in intensive care or have died from the virus, although seven have been hospitalized, the statistics show.
Here’s my breakdown of all things covid for this week:
- I covered the court hearings this week of Meng Wanzhou, the former chief financial officer for Huawei, who is going through an extradition process in Canada. The courts have been mostly shut down through covid-19, although there are now limited numbers of people allowed in the courthouse each day. This was Ms. Meng’s first in-person appearance since May. I covered the case over the phone, which was strange and a bit awkward. At first, there were technical difficulties and every time someone joined the call, it was announced and interrupted the entire courtroom. Eventually, that problem was fixed, but apparently more than 100 people wanted access over the phone, so the courts had to change to a bigger line that could accommodate 250 listeners.
- I received my mail-in ballot for B.C.’s fast-approaching election. It’s interesting – similar to mail-in votes we’ve had in the past for things like changing the voting system. However, it doesn’t list the candidates in my riding, probably because of the very short timelines, so I imagine there will be a number of spoiled ballots from people who make errors in the candidate’s names.
- I attended a Vancouver Writers’ Fest event with author and historian Margaret MacMillan, who has written a new book called War: How Conflict Shaped Us. The entire writers festival is going virtual, which is a first. If this early show was anything to go by, the festival should live up to its usual first-class entertainment. However, I did notice a bit of Zoom-fatigue, which in my case means I have a hard time paying attention, despite the very engaging conversation, on a topic (international relations) I adore.
- Research from India shows that a small number of people were responsible for seeding a majority of new infections, confirming past research, the New York Times reports. Overall, five per cent of people were responsible for 80 per cent of infections detected by contact tracing. Most people, 71 per cent, did not seem to pass the virus on to anyone else. The study also found that children can get covid-19 and spread it.
- Disney laid of 28,000 people, mostly employees at the company’s theme parks, the New York Times reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many of those employees had been furloughed, but with their medical benefits intact. The theme parks have been hard hit by the pandemic.
- Amazon said more than 19,000 of its front-line workers have had covid-19, the Globe and Mail reported.
- Dogs can sniff out the covid-19 virus! This may help keep schools safe, revitalize the travel industry and so much else. Story from the Guardian.
- B.C. did 10,899 covid-19 tests on one day – the most yet. Meanwhile, some private tests for asymptomatic people are backlogged. Dr. Henry said people who test positive get their results in one day, while negative results can take longer to be communicated.
Next week, Dr. Henry has promised guidelines for upcoming special events like Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving. Let’s hope there’s a way to see our families.
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