Revelstoke remains in a league of its own in terms of per capita COVID-19 cases, but it also has seen a slight drop in numbers during the latest weekly period ending Jan. 6, 2022.
Epi-week 52 sets all-time record
Epi-week 52, the last of 2021, ran from Dec. 26, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022. During that week, the Revelstoke LHA recorded 257 new cases of COVID-19, by far a record for the Revelstoke LHA.
More recent numbers show a decline
The B.C. government releases data by Local Health Area (LHA) three times per week. The most recent data came on Jan. 7 and covered a period from Dec. 31, 2021–Jan. 6, 2022.
During that period, Revelstoke recorded a daily case rate of 295 per 100,000 people, still by far the highest per capita in B.C. Revelstoke still had an extremely high test positivity rate of 57%.
For the period, Revelstoke recorded 195 new cases for the period.
Although the number has declined, testing capacity has varied in the past weeks since demand overwhelmed capacity in mid-December. Because B.C. health authorities do not regularly provide data on testing numbers, it becomes difficult to discern how much testing capacity affected the final count. However, if testing had not been limited to those with symptoms, and availability had not also been restricted, the number would be higher.
The B.C. public health response has faced criticism for lack of transparent data since the start of the pandemic. While other large provinces like Alberta and Ontario provide relevant local data using convenient web apps, the B.C. government does not.
For example, active cases are not available for Local Health Areas in B.C., meaning we don't know how many people remain ill.
Revelstoke case rate is still highest in province
The Revelstoke case rate declined over the previous weekly reporting period, but as the graphic below shows, it is still higher than all other LHAs in B.C.
