The Tri-Cities has recorded more than 2,000 overall cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
The data, released New Year’s Eve, includes all reported cases in the 2020 calendar year up until Dec. 26, and total more than 2,100 cases.
From Dec. 20 to 26, Coquitlam, Port Moody and Port Coquitlam tallied 136 new cases, bringing December’s monthly total to 609 cases, so far shy of November’s 740 cases.
That continues a levelling trend apparent across much of the province as heightened public health orders, in place since early November, make their mark.
Per capita, the Tri-Cities recorded roughly an equal number of cases as North, East and Downtown Vancouver, as well as Richmond, Maple Ridge and Langley.
Yet the coronavirus continues to bring death and heartache to families across the Tri-Cities. Of the two active long-term care outbreaks in the region, at least 17 have died in Lakeshore Care Centre in Coquitlam and at least one has succumbed to the virus at Nicola Lodge in Port Coquitlam.
Meanwhile, Surrey, Abbotsford, and to a lesser extent Delta and Burnaby, continue to lead per-capita caseloads across the Lower Mainland, whereas Terrace, Burns Lake and Revelstoke have emerged as hotspots in the north and interior of the province.
