Various indicators show that the pressure on the provincial health system caused by the surge in respiratory diseases is easing.
But officials also warned against complacency, arguing that tougher measures would be ineffective because of their health impact in other areas.
Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said flu cases dropped from a positivity level of 27 per cent in late November to five per cent in the first week of January. She added that no other children had died since the deaths of six children late last year.
While respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are beginning to decline, they remain high, she said. COVID-19 is abating slightly. Provincial authorities reported 661 new cases, 24 of which were confirmed as XBB 1.5 (Kraken) variant.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Henry said.
Health Secretary Adrian Dix, meanwhile, said hospitals remained “historically” busy. He said 10,106 people had received hospital care as of Thursday. This figure is down from 120 since January 6.
“This represents about 87 percent occupancy of the total bed base, but also 110 percent of the province’s core bed capacity,” he said.
“This is the week where we obviously see our highest count, but we also saw a significantly higher count than we normally see in the week between Christmas and New Year,” he said.
Despite those challenges, Dix said British Columbians can count on hospital care and pointed to 4,698 surgeries in British Columbia between Dec. 18 and Dec. 24. This represents a historic figure, although the health system is facing these challenges. In the previous week, hospitals performed 7,463 operations.
“We completed more surgeries than in any week at any time in the history of the British Columbia health system,” he said, praising the efforts of health workers.
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Dix said the emergency operations centre, which has been open since Jan. 9 to help coordinate the province’s response and address capacity issues, will be in place for six weeks.
“It doesn’t mean it’s going to take six weeks,” he said, adding that the province hopes to see fewer people in hospital. Current measures should ensure patients receive care, he said, adding that the province wants to continue providing surgeries rather than postponing them.
“It’s very difficult for people when you delay surgery,” he said.
Henry, meanwhile, confirmed earlier statements that the province would not take further measures around masking. She encouraged British Columbians to wear masks to protect themselves and others, among other steps like getting vaccinated. The high level of immunity among British Columbians through vaccination provides a buffer, and COVID-19 does not cause more severe illness than all respiratory infections, she said.
“So to try to gradually reduce transmissions above that, we would have to take additional measures that would affect people’s ability to do important things in their lives,” she said.
“Everybody wearing masks isn’t going to make a huge difference in the transmission of these viruses because we transmit them in these situations — when we’re at home, when we’re with friends, when we’re doing social things that are important to us lives — where we don’t masks and still allows these viruses to be transmitted.
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