By Canadian Press

COVID-19 curve bending down in B.C. after mid-November peak: top doctor

Dec 23, 2020 | 4:43 PM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s top doctor says COVID-19 cases in the province are levelling off after peaking in mid-November, though she warns now is not the time to relax public health rules.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says the majority of cases are being traced to known infections and outbreaks, but keeping up with contact tracing is still a challenge, particularly in the hard-hit Fraser Health region. 

When presenting the latest modelling data, Henry showed the reproductive number for the illness has dipped slightly below one, meaning on average, someone who’s infected may not transmit COVID-19 to anyone.

She says that shows ongoing public health rules are working, but she’s urging people to stick to their own households over the holidays as hundreds of people are still testing positive for COVID-19 every day.

Henry points to the week of Dec. 15 to 21 as one of the most challenging throughout the pandemic, as 109 people died after contracting the illness.

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B.C. recorded 518 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 19 more people have died, pushing the death toll in the province to 796. 

Henry says B.C. also has word that it could receive the first doses of the newly approved Moderna vaccine as early as Monday, while more than 5,600 people have been immunized so far with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2020.

The Canadian Press