The rate of COVID-19 transmission in Whistler is falling.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) announced Wednesday, April 21 that officials have recorded a reduction in new cases compared to recent weeks. According to the health authority, Whistler logged 72 new cases of the coronavirus between April 12 and 18, down significantly from the 179 new cases of COVID-19 that were identified in the resort the week prior, from April 6 to 11.
From Jan. 1 to April 18, Whistler has recorded a total of 1,759 cases of COVID-19. VCH said 1,688 of these individuals have so far recovered from the virus.
During a similar reporting period, from April 11 to 17, the entire Howe Sound health region recorded 131 new cases of the virus, according to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. That represents a drastic fall in transmission rates across the health region as a whole, which includes Whistler, Pemberton, Squamish and parts of the southern Stl’atl’mx Nation. The previous week, from April 4 to 10, the region logged 337 cases.
The good news comes following a government-mandated shutdown of Whistler Blackcomb as well as a week-long mass vaccination campaign that VCH launched in Whistler on April 12 and ended on April 18. To ensure all eligible residents have the opportunity to get vaccinated, VCH said an additional clinic day is scheduled to take place on April 28 at Whistler Conference Centre. The clinic is intended for people who were unable to get vaccinated last week, because they were in self-isolating after being identified as close contacts of COVID-19 cases.
Even amid lower case numbers, public health officials are still strongly advising Whistler residents to continue to follow public health guidelines—even if they have been vaccinated.
Newly reported cases continue to identified be among young adults who live and work in the Whistler community. The most common site for transmission continues to be in household settings and social gatherings, according to VCH.
