Weekly COVID-19 case counts drop in Thompson-Okanagan alongside pace of testing

Photo: BC CDC

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in most parts of the Thompson-Okanagan were down during the Christmas week, but so was testing.

Like most of B.C., new confirmed infections of COVID-19 trended downwards during the week of Christmas in the Thompson-Okanagan, according to new data from the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Between the week of Dec. 20-26, 214 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the Central Okanagan. That is a decline from weekly totals of well over 300 in the two previous weeks. 

The Penticton and South Okanagan (Oliver/Osoyoos) health areas also saw positive cases drop to 31 cases and 15 cases respectively. Both areas saw large spikes in previous weeks due to outbreaks in care homes.

New weekly case counts in Kamloops remain low, with just 27 people testing positive last week.

Vernon, however, saw weekly confirmed cases rise to 48, up from weekly totals of 36 and 21 in the previous two weeks. 

While case totals across the province were down, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said this week that is in part due to a drop in overall testing.

In the Interior Health region, there were just 4,779 virus tests completed during the Christmas week, a 23 per cent decrease from the week prior. Across B.C., testing was down as much as 50 per cent, Dr. Henry said.

“Partly it's people don't want to be tested and have to isolate before this holiday, which is worrisome,’ she said Tuesday.

Due to the lack of testing during the holidays, health officials expect testing will increase this week. Henry noted that the average incubation period for COVID-19 is approximately five to seven days, which is when people start showing symptoms. 

Within the IH region, the seven-day rolling positivity rate for COVID-19 tests has never been higher — at 8.1 per cent on Dec. 29.

with a file from Elana Shepert