New COVID-19 cases falling slower in Interior than across B.C.

While the number of new COVID-19 cases across British Columbia continues to steadily fall, that decrease is moving slower in the Interior relative to the rest of the province.

BC Centre for Disease Control data, collected by Castanet, shows the proportion of Interior Health cases compared to the rest of the province has steadily increased since early May, reaching a recent high of about 35 per cent on Tuesday.

There are close to 800,000 people within the Interior Health authority, making up about 15.7 per cent of B.C.'s population. But in recent weeks, the region has seen far more than its fair share of new COVID-19 cases.

For much of the third wave of the pandemic, the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions saw the majority of the province's COVID-19 cases, with the Interior making up closer to 10 per cent of daily cases. But with cases in the Lower Mainland plummeting in recent weeks, as vaccination becomes more widespread, the decrease in Interior cases has lagged behind.

Interior Health acknowledged cases are decreasing slower here, but couldn't say why.

"Just as new cases in the Interior lagged behind the Lower Mainland, there is a similar lag in the decrease of cases in the Interior," an unnamed Interior Health spokesperson said in a statement.

"There are a few areas in Interior Health that are experiencing some increased COVID-19 activity. However, cases and transmission have dropped significantly in our communities overall."

The spokesperson would not say where the areas with increased COVID-19 activity are, and the health authority declined an interview.

Provincewide, close to 75 per cent of those 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but much of the Interior is lagging behind the provincial average. Community level data released this week shows just three communities in the Thompson-Okanagan are at or exceeding the B.C. average vaccination rate.

To date, 506,253 first doses of a COVID-19 have been administered in the Interior, along with 134,929 second doses. Those who haven't already can register for a vaccine appointment here.

Earlier in the pandemic, the Interior has also see a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases, but that was when total cases were far lower. In mid- to late-July, the Interior's cases were making upwards of 70 per cent of the province's total cases, due in large part to a cluster of cases stemming from parties in Kelowna. But total daily cases across B.C. were only reaching a few dozen at that time.

Photo: Vancouver Coastal Health