The province announced 449 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including 19 in the Island Health region. And while that’s the fewest for any health region in the province, Island Health said case counts are rising in the Nanaimo area, which is a “worrying trend.”
Greater Nanaimo has seen its number of new cases increase for four consecutive weeks, said the health authority. Ninety-three new cases recorded between Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 represent nearly twice the number from the previous week.
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“While the risk of COVID-19 is present in every community on Vancouver Island, the Central Island region continues to see the highest number of active cases,” the health authority said Thursday.
On Thursday, 152 of the 220 active cases within Island Health were in the Central Island region, which includes Greater Nanaimo, the Cowichan Valley, Oceanside and Alberni-Clayoquot. By comparison, there were 58 cases in the south and 10 in the north region of the Island.
While Cowichan Valley south has seen a flattening and downward bend in the curve of cases, Greater Nanaimo has not, Island Health said. However, contact tracers have generally been able to identify where people acquired their infection — often linked to known cases or clusters, the health authority said. It said public health teams have noted an increase in the number of contacts associated with larger and more frequent social gatherings.
As the Family Day weekend begins, Island Health reminded residents to stick with household members, avoid outdoor gatherings involving multiple households, and refrain from sharing things like vape pens or pods, cigarettes, drinks or food. If you have symptoms, stay home and be tested.
There are now 4,317 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, of whom 224 are hospitalized, including 63 in intensive or critical care.
Another nine people have died of COVID-19 related illness, the province reported on Thursday, for a total of 1,278 deaths in the province to date.
