As expected, September’s COVID-19 cases for local health areas in northern B.C. saw significant surges.
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has released its latest local health area boundary numbers from last month, which shows an increase of 20 positive tests in Prince George for a total of 56 since the virus hit the region in March.
The BC Centre for Disease Control's Local Health area map between January 2020 and September 2020. (via BCCDC)In August, there were only three new cases within the northern capital's region.
Corresponding to its most recent Health Service Delivery Area map (see below), the BCCDC is reporting 22 COVID-19 cases in the northern interior, which includes Prince George, from the past two weeks ending last Thursday (Oct. 8).
As the cases were tallied from September, the new numbers don’t include the potential exposure event at Prince George Secondary on Oct. 2, which was the city’s first school listed on Northern Health’s page on Friday (Oct. 9).
That same day, anyone who used Prince George Taxi’s service between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Oct. 2 to 3 is asked to monitor their symptoms as Northern Health also issued an exposure alert this morning (Oct. 13).
The overall spike, once again, is contained to the Peace River North, which recorded 38 COVID-19 cases last month and is inching closer to 100 for the year with a total of 93.
The Nechako region tied Prince George with 20 new cases from September, likely due to the exposure events at two Fort St. James-based schools.
The virus also claimed the life of a female Nak’azdli Whut’en elder in her 70s, one of three in total across the authority.
Currently, there are no community or facility outbreaks across northern B.C.
Six schools have been potentially exposed to COVID-19:
- Prince George Secondary School (SD57) - Oct. 2, 2020
- Dawson Creek Secondary School - South Peace Campus (SD59) - Sept. 23-25, 2020
- David Hoy Elementary School (SD91) - Sept. 17-18, 2020
- Quesnel Junior Secondary School (SD28) - Sept. 10-11, 15-18, 2020
- Nak’albun Elementary School (Independent) - Sept. 16-18, 2020
- Ecole Frank Ross Elementary School (SD59) - Sept. 10-11, 2020
As of this publication, only 8.5 per cent of the Northern Health authority’s population, as per its 2019-20 report, has undergone a test for COVID-19.
The BC Centre for Disease Control's Health Service Delivery Area map, Sept. 25 to Oct. 8. (via BCCDC)
