Hospitalizations, ICU admittances, general figures
By Timothy Easling, Contributor
It’s been another tough few weeks for those who have lost loved ones, but Canadians should keep their resolve strong as data continues to point towards there being minimal risk to the majority of the population in terms of fatalities.
The country has seen 17.5 percent of its cases in the last two weeks but only 1.9 percent of the deaths.
Since the week of September 17, and at the time of writing this (October 1), there have been approximately 27,606 new cases in Canada with 173 deaths. The 0 to 39 age bracket registered only 2 deaths from 16,898 cases; the 40 to 49 age bracket registered a single death from 3,686 cases; the 50 to 59 age bracket had 10 deaths from 3,020 cases; and the 60+ bracket registered 160 deaths from 4,002 cases.
There is never reason to celebrate death, but it should come as some comfort that Canadians under 60 (minimal risk factor added), with no pre-existing conditions (increased risk), and not in long-term care (LTC) (81 percent of deaths have occurred in LTCs), have little statistical reason to be afraid of dying or being hospitalized from COVID-19.
While those 60-and-up—again primarily with comorbidities and in LTCs—comprised 92.5 percent of the recent deaths, they only accounted for 14.5 percent of new cases—down from 30.6 percent. The 0 to 39 age bracket saw a whopping 61.2 percent (up 21 percent) of the new cases with only 2 deaths. Similarly positive figures were reported from the 40-49 age bracket with 13.4 percent of new cases (down 1.5 percent) but only 1 death, and the 50-59 age bracket with 10.9 percent of new cases (down 3.5 percent) but only 10 deaths. To summarize, the 0 to 39 age bracket has massively increased its share of new cases while continuing to report very few deaths. Youth are getting COVID-19 far more but the fatality risk remains very minimal. Additionally, the country has seen 17.5 percent of its cases in the last two weeks but only 1.9 percent of the deaths.
In terms of hospitalization, Canadians have reason to be a little more wary—but should still not let it overly concern them. (Note: hospitalization/ICU data is only available for 96,208—60.8 percent—of cases) While the hospitalizations, like deaths, are primarily dominated by the older demographic, youth can also be affected. Of the country’s 12,225 hospitalizations, 8,442 (69.1 percent) are from 60-and-up (8.8 percent of cases) The 0 to 39 age range has seen 1,170 hospitalizations (9.6 percent)(1.2 percent of cases); the 40 to 49 range has reported 931 (7.6 percent)(1 percent of cases); and the 50 to 59 bracket has counted 1,682 (13.8 percent) (1.7 percent of cases). Data has not been made available for any conditions arising from hospital visits.
ICU admittances should be taken more seriously, but the reported figures are quite low in proportion to hospitalization and death statistics. The 0 to 39 age bracket observed 125 ICU admittances (5 percent)(0.13 percent of cases); the 40 to 49 age bracket saw 238 admittances (9.6 percent)(0.25 percent of cases); and the 50 to 59 bracket suffered 515 (20.7 percent)(0.54 percent of cases). While the distribution is much more even among the demographics, the total figures are much lower than any other category—as indicated by the low percentage in relation to total cases. Data has not been made available for any conditions arising from ICU admittances.
On a local note, BC has seen 2,657 new cases and 25 more deaths since September 10. BC has registered 28.3 percent of its case total in the last few weeks but only 4 percent of its deaths.
The concern is not over for COVID-19, but data certainly suggests the country should take a more proactive approach to specifically protecting its older and at-risk populations—seeing as those in good health and below advanced age appear to be relatively unaffected.
