Dr. Bonnie Henry believes COVID-19 transmission levels will remain high for the next few weeks, then begin to drop. (BC Government)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

COVID update

‘We’re getting the sense that we have leveled off somewhat:’ optimism expressed by Dr. Bonnie Henry

Jan 11, 2022 | 3:06 PM

NANAIMO — Following expected high COVID-19 transmission levels for the next few weeks, BC’s public health officer expects the situation to improve.

A cautiously optimistic tone from Dr. Bonnie Henry came during a Tuesday, Jan. 11 regular COVID-19 media briefing as new infection rates bounced between the 2,000 and 4,000 range in B.C. since late last year.

Dr. Henry said there is a sense virus transmissions are dropping based on the trajectory of other provinces and countries hit earlier by Omicron.

“We look at what we’re seeing in other jurisdictions that have been ahead of us in terms of this wave around Canada and around the world, we may be entering soon into the place where we will see a decline,” Dr. Henry said.

However, restrictions on gatherings and events are likely to remain unchanged in the short term, Henry said.

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Two sets of public health orders impacting gatherings and events are slated to be in place through Jan. 18 and Jan. 31 respectively.

“And in parallel, we are looking at what we can safely resume, now that all businesses have COVID safety plans.” Dr. Henry said.

Emphasizing the Omicron variant as a milder strain, Dr. Henry noted most people in B.C. ICU’s with COVID-19 continue to be unvaccinated.

She said data from Denmark and the U.K. showed vaccinated people are less likely to transmit Omicron variant to household contacts, while those populations also face less infection risk.

Dr. Henry encouraged British Columbians to reduce indoor socializing as much as possible for the time being.

As of Tuesday, Jan 11 active COVID-19 cases province-wide increased to 36,087 with 65 people hospitalized on Vancouver Island, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

More than 2,200 new COVID cases were reported province-wide on Tuesday.

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