North Shore COVID cases still creeping up

The number of COVID-19 cases on the North Shore is continuing to creep up, despite high vaccination rates.

There were 51 new cases of COVID-19 on the North Shore in the past week, ending Aug. 7. That’s close to double the 29 cases reported the week before.

Of those cases, 39 were in North Vancouver while 12 were in West Vancouver.

Most of the cases on the North Shore have been in the eastern parts of the District and City of North Vancouver, according to information from B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control.

The increase in COVID cases comes despite high vaccination rates on the North Shore. According to BC’s Centre for Disease Control, 79 per cent of those 12 and over and 81 per cent of those 18 and over have received two doses of vaccine in the District of North Vancouver. About 90 per cent of eligible residents have received at least one dose of vaccine.

The increase in local COVID numbers comes amid a provincial spike in cases, fueled by the more transmissible Delta variant, which now makes up 95 per cent of cases in the province and 88 per cent of cases in Vancouver Coastal Health.

The recent surge of cases in B.C. has been concentrated around Kelowna in the Central Okanagan, which recorded 849 cases in the past week.

The rising number of new cases has prompted the government to mandate masks inside public spaces again in the Central Okanagan area, and take other measures such as decreasing the waiting time between first and second doses of vaccine for those in that region. 

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said this week the majority of people who have recently been hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated people in their 40s and 50s.