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Vaccines aren’t expected to be ready for distribution to the general population until after March. Henry noted that age is the most important factor in whether the virus will make you seriously ill or cause death.
Since the fall, cases have been increasing exponentially, rising to as high as 800 or more a day by the end of November. Hospitalizations and deaths have also risen dramatically.
Modelling shows that increasing restrictions have bent the curve, bringing cases down below the 600 level.
The Fraser Health region, which encompasses Surrey, has been particularly hard hit, but the rate of spread is dropping there as well, modelling shows.
Younger people — from 20-to-39 — continue to account for the greatest number of cases. But all age groups have seen spikes and a subsequent drop, modelling shows. While modelling indicates that B.C.’s infectious rate has dropped to the level where one infected person is estimated to be infecting less than one other person, on average — a small change upward could see cases rise exponentially again, warned Henry.
Information provided Wednesday shows that while B.C.’s virus spread had surged in the fall, it’s below levels in the other populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
On Wednesday, the province reported 518 new cases in the last 24 hours, 332 of those in Fraser Health. There are 348 people in hospital in the province, 80 of those in critical care. There were 19 new deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing total deaths in B.C. to 796.
