New COVID-19 case counts dipped in Castlegar last week, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.
The centre’s latest numbers, released Sept. 8, show 18 new cases were reported in the Castlegar local health area between Aug. 29 and Sept. 4. There were 27 cases in Castlegar the previous week, and 33 the week before that (Aug. 15 - 21).
Since the spike in local cases began around the middle of July, there have been 171 new cases. That is about 65 per cent of the total number of cases — 263 — since the beginning of the pandemic.
Grand Forks’ local health area led the West Kootenay in new cases last week, with 45.
There were 44 new cases in Nelson, a dramatic drop from 71 the previous week.
New case levels dropped across most LHAs in the Kootenays. While new cases doubled from 2 to 4 in the Arrow Lakes LHA, they fell in the following LHAs — in some cases dramatically.
• 71 to 44 in Nelson
• 69 to 68 in Cranbrook
• 42 to 30 in Fernie
• 53 to 24 in Creston
• 18 to 9 in Kimberly
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Vaccination rates in Castlegar have continued their slow climb, gaining just one per cent over the week according to the BC CDC’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard. About 78 per cent of people over the age of 12 have received one dose of vaccine and 69 per cent have received two doses.
First-dose vaccination rates across the region as of Sept. 7:
• 85 per cent in Trail
• 74 per cent in Nelson
• 78 per cent in Cranbrook
• 79 per in Fernie
• 68 per cent in Creston
• 83 percent in Kimberly
• 75 per cent in Arrow Lakes.
As of Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, 85.3 per cent (3,955,624) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 77.8 per cent (3,608,067) received their second dose.
Regular vaccination clinics are being held at the Castlegar Health Centre on Mondays and Fridays.
Pop-up vaccination clinics will be held at Selkirk College on Sept. 15 and Sept. 22.
For more information about how to get vaccinated, visit the Government of BC’s website.
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