Vaccination rate sees little to no change in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows

COVID-19 cases in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows have continued to stay on the higher side.

The two cities had 191 cases in the week ending Oct. 2, just slightly lower than the previous week’s 202 cases, according to the latest statistics from B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

The high number of cases over the past two weeks could be partly attributed to the COVID outbreak at the Maple Ridge Christian school, where 32 cases were identified among staff and students on Sept. 24.

Initially, in-person instruction was allowed to go ahead for those in Grades 6 and above. However, a notice went out to parents at the Christian school on Sept. 30 that students in Grades 6 and 7 were required by Fraser Health to self isolate and self monitor, until Oct. 9, after the school was made aware of multiple positive COVID cases.

There are no further updates on the outbreak at this time, responded Curtis Harling, Fraser Health spokesperson, after being asked if there were any additional COVID-19 cases at the school.

“Through our outbreak response we determined that isolating these classes was needed. Due to privacy reasons, we cannot disclose further information,” he said.

A: If you have symptoms you must self-isolate while you wait for your test results. Even if the test result is negative, you should stay at home until you feel better.#AskBCCDC pic.twitter.com/fxgBYPF5s5

— BC Centre for Disease Control (@CDCofBC) October 5, 2021

While cases in Maple Ridge remain high, COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring cities have also seen increases over the same time frame from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2. Surrey has gone from 344 cases to 325 cases week over week, Langley has gone up from 199 cases to 220, Abbotsford from 228 to 268. The rest of the Lower Mainland is showing a similar upwards trajectory in case counts, especially taking into account the rising cases possibly due to the Delta variant.

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The CDC reports indicate a total of 3,999 cases in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows recorded from January 2020 through September 2021. Actual case totals, including those unreported, could be significantly higher.

The vaccination progress, which had improved since the announcement of the vaccination passport, has slowed and in some cases remained stagnant in the past couple of weeks. As of Oct. 5, 86 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows have received their first dose, same as last week, and 80 per cent have received their second doses, up by a per cent from last week.

Vaccination for the 50+ age bracket has seen no changes, with 90 per cent population in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows vaccinated with their first doses and 87 per cent with their second COVID-19 vaccine doses.

ALSO READ: Tracker says B.C. schools recording COVID-19 exposures at 10 times last year’s rate