COVID-19: More younger people dying in B.C.'s pandemic – Vancouver Sun

Dr. Bonnie Henry said there had been three new deaths in people aged 30-39 over the past few weeks

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Three more people in their thirties have died of COVID-19 in B.C., two of them from the Cowichan Tribes outbreak on Vancouver Island.

On Thursday, the provincial health officer said COVID deaths were falling in long-term care homes, but rising among younger people.

Dr. Bonnie Henry said there had been three deaths in people aged 30-39 over the past few weeks. That adds to the four people in that age group who died in December, according to B.C. Centre for Disease Control data.

“We’ve seen hospitalizations in young people and we’ve seen, sadly and tragically, deaths in (three) young people in the last few weeks,” Henry said. “Some with underlying illnesses, and some who were Indigenous people and related to some of the outbreaks that we’re seeing.”

The Cowichan Tribes outbreak started in late December and there has been four deaths among hundreds of reported cases of COVID-19. The first death was in late January, followed by two deaths among young people reported between Feb. 8 and 16 and one death between Feb. 18 to 22.

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While those aged 80 to 89 have taken the deadly brunt of COVID-19, Henry said young people had suffered in other ways.

“I have said all along how struck I am by how challenging this pandemic has been for young people, especially for our teenagers and young adults, but also all the children who are seeing a strange new world,” Henry said.

There were 395 new cases of COVID-19 reported over the past day and 10 deaths.

Henry said 13 more cases of variants of concern had appeared, bringing that total to 116 in B.C., 95 of them the B117 type first identified in the U.K. No one with a detected variant case has died.

She said the spread of COVID-19 in B.C. was now driven mainly by workplace transmission.

Around 32,000 (or 40 per cent) of cases of COVID-19 in B.C. were transmitted in workplaces — including schools, daycares, ski resorts and food processing facilities, Henry said.

There had been an event at a pub that led to over 300 infections, including at a daycare, schools and a number of other workplaces.

This comes as the B.C. Teachers’ Federation released WorkSafeBC data showing in-school transmission claims for assistance were second in numbers only to claims from health-care workers.

The data showed that as of Feb. 19 there had been 123 claims made in the education sector with 1,781 made in the health sector. These sick claims go through WorkSafeBC because they were acquired at work.

There have been 110 claims made in the agricultural sector, 47 in hotel, restaurants and pubs and 38 made in retail operations.

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Henry said there were 4,489 active cases of the disease in B.C., of which 228 were being treated in hospital (including 62 in intensive care).

So far in B.C. 171,676 people have been vaccinated — including 68,157 who have been fully immunized with two doses. The province has administered 239,833 shots.

dcarrigg@postmedia.com

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