Local COVID-19 cases in the Tri-Cities have dropped for a second straight week, declining by more than a third since their peak in the first week of April.
Between April 18 and 24, new weekly cases dipped to 341 across Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody after peaking at 514 new cases — the second most in the province after Surrey — two weeks earlier.
The downward trend mirrors a decline in new cases seen across the province in recent weeks and comes as bans on indoor public dining and other indoor social gatherings continue.
Last week, the province also announced several travel restrictions limiting British Columbians to three regional zones and banning travellers from crossing the Alberta-B.C. land border for any reason not deemed essential.
On Wednesday, Premier John Horgan also called on Canadians to cancel all non-essential travel plans to B.C.
It’s not clear which, if any, of the restrictions has had the greatest impact on limiting COVID-19 transmission in the Tri-Cities.
What is clear: Coquitlam RCMP has been busy this month.
Between April 1 and 27, the detachment handed out 25 tickets related to COVID-19 violations, an average of roughly one a day. That’s a massive uptick from the first 12 months of the pandemic, when officers issued a total of 36 violation tickets for an average of one every 10 days.
Tickets have ranged from refusing to wear a mask to hosting and attending banned events and acting in a belligerent way toward officers.
Such enforcement was on display last week when police handed out over $3,000 in fines at a Port Coquitlam bar last week. The bar owner said the violation tickets were unwarranted and that he would challenge them in court.
In addition, Fraser Health and WorkSafeBC have shuttered at least 11 businesses across Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody after it was found the virus was transmitting among staff.
PORT COQUITLAM VACCINATION MIX-UP PROMPTS BACKLASH
The dip in new COVID-19 cases also comes as Fraser Health targets the Tri-Cities for vaccination.
Port Coquitlam is one of 16 “high-transmission” communities across the province targeted with the AstraZeneca vaccine. This week, Port Coquitlam residents over age 30 were offered a special vaccine clinic at the Poirier Forum in Coquitlam.
The vaccination effort, however, was plagued by poor communication and lines up to a kilometre long, turning many away.
The Tuesday pop up clinic drew a torrent of criticism from people who were upset how the pop-up clinic was announced.
People who didn't live in Port Coquitlam were sent emails by their doctors to show up and social media was one of the main ways people were informed about the clinic.
Fraser Health didn't send out a press release until about noon, but by then a line-up had already started, leading to many people waiting several hours to get a shot.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the clinic was supposed to be for people in high-transmission areas like Port Coquitlam, but many ineligible people received vaccines as well due to communications problems. Between the Coquitlam and Surrey pop-up clinics, 4,000 vaccines were administered that day.
Fraser Health said it had no plans to open up a local vaccine clinic in Port Coquitlam despite the high case count.
Fraser Health said in a statement it is monitoring need and will add or remove clinics as needed.
“While we do not have additional immunization clinics planned for the Tri-Cities at this time, we continue to monitor volumes at our sites across our region and will flex clinics up or down to meet our communities’ needs,” stated Krystle Landert, a Fraser Health communications consultant, in an email.
Port Coquitlam residents can book online at getvacinnatedbc.ca for appointments at Poirier Forum in Coquitlam or an immunization centre in Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Cloverdale, Guildford, Langley or South Surrey.
—With files from Diane Strandberg
