Number of COVID-positive patients in hospital drops for 2nd straight week

The number of patients in British Columbia hospitals with COVID-19 dropped again this week, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported Thursday.

The centre's weekly report noted 205 patients in hospital with the virus that causes COVID-19 as of Thursday compared to 237 a week ago. The two-week decline comes after a two-week span that saw hospitalizations rise.

The year began with 356 people in hospital.

Eighteen patients are in critical care, up fourfrom 14 last week.

The centre reported the week ending March 4saw 19 deaths within 30 days of the first positive COVID-19 test result compared to 11 the week before.

For the week ending March 4, 347 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 396,817.

Unlike hospitalizations, case totals significantly underestimate the true spread of the disease as the BCCDC only counts PCR tests in its report, which are currently inaccessible to the majority of British Columbians.

The centre said influenza activity remainedlow, and RSV levels arestable and"similar to the historical average."

It said tests for the virus in wastewater have detectedevidence of increasedviral loadin the majority of reporting wastewater plants.

Weekly numbers shared by the province are preliminary and are often changed retroactively.