Community immunity stopping hospitals being overwhelmed: Dr. Henry

• Omicron causing far less severe illness compared to Delta
• Length of hospital stays halved
• Over 17,000 healthcare workers called in sick last week
• Interior has highest daily cases reported on Tuesday

Group immunity in the community is helping the health care system get through one of the toughest periods of the two-year COVID-19 pandemic, according to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Meanwhile, she has reiterated any easing of restrictions in the coming weeks will be gradual.

The number of people in hospital at any one time exceeded 1,000 for the first time Monday, and the amount of healthcare workers who called in sick last week has not declined, remaining at around 17,000 for the third week running.

As the system continues to deal with the brunt of the Omicron variant, Henry said there was no doubt vaccinations were helping to stop deaths and preventing people becoming critically ill.

“The high levels of vaccination we have across the board … has made the difference that our hospitals were not overwhelmed these last few weeks,” she said, noting the health care system is under "severe strain."

She explained how 90 per cent of new admissions in recent weeks were due to the Omicron variant and yet the risk of severe illness and hospitalization was running at 1.3 per cent of all new cases, while it was at 5.1 per cent for the previous Delta variant. The length of hospital stays was halved compared to the Delta variant.

“The level of immunity that we have in our community has protected our health care system at this most critical time even when we’ve had the numbers of people who needed that hospital care,” she said.

“So, while it is under severe strain, it is the credit of so many who have stepped up and got that protection that our hospitals are coping, even though we’re stretched.”

Henry added while there had also been increases in cases in long term care facilities, the severity of illness for most people was far less, and “this is absolutely because of the very high levels of vaccination, and booster doses in residents and staff.”

Turning the dial, not the on/off switch

However, while Henry again pointed to the chances of a gradual easing of some restrictions come the Family Day long weekend - such as increasing size limits on events and gatherings - she said there would not be a total end to all restrictions as has happened in Denmark and the U.K., for example.

“As we have done previously, it will not be a flick of the switch,” she said. “It will be again, increasing the dimmer switch, a gradual turning of the dial.”

Meanwhile, health minister Adrian Dix said while the number of healthcare workers across the entire system was not worsening, it was not improving either, with 17,756 staff calling in sick last week. Of those, 3,456 were across Interior Health.

These absences were happening at a time when acute care facilities are stretched, with 448 of the province’s 510 critical care base beds currently full. The system has 9,229 base beds and 8,776 of those are in use.

“What this tells you is our hospitals are very busy providing exception care to a lot of people,” Dix said.

Latest numbers

B.C. reported 1,236 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, 179 more than on Monday, and the 406 new cases in Interior Health were the highest among any region. That's an increase of 125 on the previous day.

Provincewide there were 1,035 COVID-positive individuals in hospital, 12 fewer than on Monday, and 139 were in intensive care, an increase of one.

In the Interior, there were 112 people in hospital, 51 fewer than Monday, and 29 people receiving critical care, an increase of two.