Vancouver Island COVID-19 surge partly fuelled by cluster from Courtenay-area religious gathering
For much of the week, Island Health has been home to the largest number of new and active cases anywhere in the province outside of Fraser Health. On Thursday, the Island’s top doctor explained why.
Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s chief medical health officer, says there are basically two factors driving the recent surge in cases.
One factor is, essentially, that the Island has been a victim of its own success.
Earlier in the pandemic, when people were following the rules more diligently on the Island than elsewhere, there were more cases on the mainland, so the proportion of people with antibodies for the coronavirus increased more there.
Since the emergence of the more-transmissible Delta variant, that herd immunity on the mainland is helping keep cases lower in spots previously hit harder than the Island, and the Island is currently seeing a relative spike.
The second reason for an uptick in cases is a cluster connected to a religious gathering in the Courtenay area last week, according to Stanwick.
That event has triggered a spike in case counts in the northern part of the Island, fuelling overall island numbers.
But Stanwick says the infections connected to the cluster haven’t been serious.
“The important thing that we’ve learned from this particular situation -- which has largely involved healthy younger adults and individuals between the ages of 10 and 19 – (is) that we've had no hospital admissions,” said Stanwick Thursday. “This may, in fact, be the picture of us dealing with COVID going forward in the future, that we will see significant respiratory outbreaks, but with very little severe consequence.”
Stanwick says he doesn’t think COVID-19 numbers on the island will return to previous lows until February, when he’s hopeful they’ll again hover around 20 to 30 cases per day.
He says he expects to see a spike in cases starting in January because of holiday gatherings and other indoor activities. The wild card in that prediction, of course, is the new Omicron variant.
Stanwick says he wouldn’t be surprised if it’s already on the Island, and predicts it will be identified here before Christmas. He says officials should know in about 10 days whether existing vaccines are effective against Omicron.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.