The Skeena
The latest COVID data for the Skeena is a bit grim.
After months of progress in fighting the pandemic, we seem to be backsliding.
There were 16 new COVID cases in Kitimat last week, 7 in Terrace and 4 in the Nisga’a region. Prince Rupert thankfully only reported one new case.
That doesn’t mean we should panic, but the numbers do show that we need to remain vigilant as the hyper-contagious Delta variant continues to spread across the North.
But there was positive news in the latest data release.
“The BC government noted that as of Monday, 12,904 people under the age of 40 have registered to receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and 11,301 people under 40 have booked appointments,” the North Coast Review reports.
“That compares to 4,161 registrations and 5,077 appointment bookings for people under 40 during the same period last week, which is a pace that is nearly triple that of seven days ago.”
The way that we’ll beat this virus is by getting as many people as possible vaccinated.
Though breakthrough infections are rising, the latest provincial data shows that vaccines are still highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death.
An unvaccinated person is 10 times more likely than someone who has two doses to get infected with COVID, and 17 times more likely to end up in the hospital.
“Further modelling showed that even a 10 per cent increase in vaccination rates could keep cases low and flatten the curve, while the projected vaccination rate would see it rise into September,” the Terrace Standard reports.
So if you haven’t yet gotten your jab, now is the time.
