Achi news desk-
The number of patients with COVID-19 in BC hospitals fell to its lowest level in 2024 in the latest data update from the BC Center for Disease Control.
There were 133 test-positive patients in provincial hospitals on Thursday, according to the BCCDC. The last published update to show a total lower than that was in August last year, when the BCCDC reported that there were only 76 patients in hospital.
The number of patients reported in BC hospitals is shown in public updates from the BCCDC in 2024. (CTV News)
The hospital population this week is less than half of what it was around this time last year. The final published update in March 2023 showed 294 patients in BC hospitals.
Not everyone who is hospitalized with COVID-19 in BC is there because of the disease. The totals reported by the BCCDC include those with severe cases of COVID who require hospitalization and those who are hospitalized for other reasons and test positive after be accepted.
Other data released on Thursday by the BCCDC also showed a downward trend. There were 320 new laboratory-confirmed infections during the latest “epidemiological week” which spanned March 17 to 23. That’s down from 394 during the previous week.
The percentage of tests that came back positive also decreased during the week ending March 23. Test positivity was 9.7 percent, down from 10.9 percent the previous week, according to BCCDC data.
These declines in test-related data coincide with recent declines in concentrations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater facilities across the state. Wastewater data can be found on the BCCDC website.
Data on other respiratory viruses released on Thursday were incomplete. The BCCDC said testing data from Fraser and North health authorities was “not available” for the week of March 17 to 23, but did not explain why.
