New COVID-19 case counts rose in Castlegar last week, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.
There were 27 new cases reported in the Castlegar local health area between Sept. 5 and Sept. 11. There were 18 cases in Castlegar the previous week, and 27 the week before that (Aug. 8 - 14).
Since the spike in local cases began around the middle of July, there have been 198 new cases. That is about 68 per cent of the total number of cases — 290 — since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Nelson and Trail health areas tied for the most new cases in the West Kootenay last week, with 41 each.
Grand Forks had 32 new cases, Creston had 17 and Arrow Lakes had just one.
These numbers do not include new cases reported after the BC Vaccine Card system came into effect Monday, Sept. 13.
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Vaccination rates in Castlegar rose slightly, gaining just one per cent over the previous week according to the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard. About 79 per cent of people over the age of 12 have received one dose of vaccine and 71 per cent have received two doses, according to the latest data available as of press time.
First-dose vaccination rates across the region as of Sept. 14:
• 85 per cent in Trail/Rossland
• 75 per cent in Nelson
• 70 per cent in Creston
• 75 per cent in Arrow Lakes.
Regular vaccination clinics are being held at the Castlegar Health Centre on Mondays and Fridays.
Pop-up vaccine clinics will be held at Robson Community School on Sept. 21 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Selkirk College on Sept. 22 from 9 a.m. to noon and at Kinnaird Elementary School on Sept. 23 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Clinics will also be held at Mt Sentinel Secondary School on Sept. 20 from noon to 4 p.m. and W.E. Graham Community School on Sept. 21 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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