COVD-19 test positivity in New Westminster has jumped since last week.
Between Jan. 18 and 24, test positivity for New West residents stood at 46%. That's up from the past few weeks, where rates stood at 36% and 37%.
Test positivity remains sky-high around the Lower Mainland in the face of the Omicron surge.
Testing numbers have fallen dramatically over the past few weeks, as B.C. has restricted tests to a narrow band of people considered to be at higher risk from the virus.
As of Jan. 26, Fraser Health's website says testing is recommended for people who have symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection and meet one of the following criteria:
- People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.
- People 18 years of age and older who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
- Individuals who live or work in high-risk settings.
The official B.C. Centre for Disease Control count shows 214 new cases in New Westminster between Jan. 18 and 24, up from 206 the previous week – for a new daily case rate of 36 per 100,000.
However, the severely restricted testing means case counts are no longer an accurate measure of how much COVID-19 is circulating in a given community.
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