The Northwestern Health Unit says there has been a small increase number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the past week.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon notes the BA-2 variant is now circulating in the region.
In its weekly update, the Health Unit says the seven day test positivity rate is 14.5% and there are also 191 active high risk cases.
Dr. Young Hoon note, “Due to eligibility criteria for PCR testing, many people test positive on Rapid Antigen Tests, which are not captured in reporting, indicating that the number of people in our region with COVID-19 is much higher than the data shows.”
She adds, “It is likely that when interacting in public settings, people will be exposed to the virus. The risk of this happening will go up and down as we experience waves of illness, but the risk will still be there. I strongly recommend wearing a mask when in enclosed public settings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
The Health Unit urges compassion, patience and kindness as we all adjust to live with the virus.
Dr. Young Hoon says, “many businesses and agencies, including hospitals are experiencing staffing shortages and this means many essential workers are putting in overtime and extra shifts because their coworkers are ill.”
Canada’s top doctor Tuesday announced our country is officially in the sixth wave of COVID-19 and urged people to get a booster shot.
