17.13°C Vancouver

Apr 8, 2022 12:25 AM - Connect News

B.C. shifts to weekly COVID-19 data reporting

Share On
b-c-shifts-to-weekly-covid-19-data-reporting
B.C.'s provincial health office, Dr. Bonnie Henry during a press conference in Victoria. (Photo - The Canadian Press)

As British Columbia continues to take the next step in its COVID-19 response, the Province is transitioning from daily to weekly COVID-19 reporting.

Beginning on Thursday, April 7, 2022, COVID-19 dashboards and reports issued by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control will be updated on weekly basis here: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data

The new reports will focus on key measures of severity and trends over time, similar to how other communicable diseases are reported.

The new system continues to provide the data required to guide public health decision-making and allows everybody to have an accurate picture of the COVID-19 climate in their area.

Data will be updated Thursday afternoons and will provide information from the past full week, from the previous Sunday to Saturday.

The first reports and updates will include data up to the week of March 27 to April 2, 2022.

The new COVID-19 reporting approach aligns with a shift away from a "case-management" model to a "surveillance" approach that focuses on identifying meaningful changes in COVID-19 trends over time across different regions of the province. It is similar to how government monitors for other serious respiratory illnesses through FluWatch.

Description of changes

Cases will be based on an individual’s first PCR test through the Medical Services Plan (MSP).

In the current system, case counts include both laboratory data and health authority line lists. The latter health authority-based line list workflow will be discontinued with the updated approach.

Comparisons between the two systems indicate that the number of reported cases show similar trends over time.

Hospitalization reporting will leverage the hospital occupancy data that is currently used to report on "currently in hospital" for all hospital metrics.

With the move to use of broader administrative data there will likely be a one-time increase in the number of cases ever hospitalized.

The weekly situation report will move to reporting on critical care, in line with the COVID-19 dashboards. There will also be an increase in the number of cases ever in critical care.

Death reporting is changing to rely on data from Vital Statistics, the agency that registers all deaths in B.C. and reports on death statistics reported by BC Coroners Service.

In the current system, each death in someone with a documented COVID-19 infection was reviewed to determine if the death truly resulted from the COVID-19 infection. These were documented on health authority line lists through manual workflows.

In the new system, all deaths that occurred within 30 days of an individual’s positive lab result will be reported, regardless of whether the underlying cause of death was determined to be COVID-19 or not. This broader definition means that some deaths will be reported that are not related to COVID-19. Knowing when a death occurred can take, on average, four to six days to enter the system.

The new approach relies on more preliminary information from an automated data linkage and discontinues the manual, resource-intensive approach.

Mortality data will be reviewed retrospectively once the cause of death is reported by Vital Statistics in order to better understand the true scope of COVID-19 mortality. Cause of death information takes, on average, four to eight weeks to enter the system.

Reporting of deaths in this system is different from the previous system and is not comparable. A new separate death data stream will be started while access to the previous records will remain.

Historic data: The transition to a new system will not result in a retrospective altering of past data.

Any comparisons between the two different time periods should be made with caution.

Data files with daily numbers will continue to be made available albeit once a week for download from here: www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data

Continuity of reporting

As noted above, despite changing frequency, the COVID-19 dashboards and reports will continue to be updated. This means that for as long as there remains a need to guide public health decision-making, data will continue to be available on the following topics:

Epidemiological trends and comparisons

Case data, including variants and outbreaks

Vaccine reports, including immunization coverage

Latest news

canadas-dabrowski-and-partner-routliffe-win-u-s-open-womens-doubles-title
EnglishSep 05, 2025

Canada's Dabrowski and partner Routliffe win U.S. Open women's doubles title

Canadian tennis player Gabriela Dabrowski has won the US Open Grand Slam title with her New Zealand partner Erin Rutliff. The Canadian player won the women's doubles title in straight sets with her partner. Together, the two defeated the pair of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4. Earlier, Gabriela Dabrowski also won the US Open title in 2023. Pawan Sahni, of Newton Tennis Club in Surrey, says “the win is a boost for Canadian tennis.” He added, on one hand, just a few weeks ago, young player Victoria Mboko won the Canadian Open title, and now, with Canada's senior player win
BCSep 05, 2025

Coquihalla Highway reopened following wildfire closure

The Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5) between Hope and Merritt has reopened in both directions following a closure caused by the Mine Creek wildfire. Due to the proximity of the fire, drivers should be prepared for the Coquihalla Highway to be closed with minimal notice. Drivers are advised to not stop in the fire zone. Intermittent lane closures can be expected as crews continue to assess and repair roadside damage, and visibility is reduced due to wildfire smoke. Drivers should also be prepared for an increased risk of wildlife presence due to fire damage to wildlife-exclusion fencing on this s
police-investigate-early-morning-shots-fired-in-south-surrey
CanadaSep 05, 2025

Police Investigate Early Morning Shots Fired in South Surrey

Surrey Police Service (SPS) is investigating an early morning shooting that occurred in South Surrey. On September 5, 2025, at approximately 3:50 am, SPS responded to reports of shots fired in the 14300 block of 28 Avenue, Surrey. Upon arrival, members located numerous shell casings on 28 Avenue. It does not appear that any residences were damaged and nobody was injured. SPS Frontline Investigation Support (FLIS) Team are attending and have taken conduct of the investigation. Investigators believe this incident is related to an ongoing extortion investigation.
ministers-statement-on-the-cowichan-valley-transit-labour-dispute
BCSep 05, 2025

Special mediator appointed to resolve Cowichan Valley transit labour dispute

Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour, has issued the following statement on the Cowichan Valley transit labour dispute: “This strike has been deeply disruptive to people living in the Cowichan Valley, who rely on transit to get to work, go to school, attend medical appointments and access everyday services. “This dispute has gone on for far too long. There’s a real urgency for the parties to get back to the table, find a fair resolution and get transit services back on the road. “To help the parties resolve the ongoing labour dispute, I have appointed Vince Ready as a special mediato
elon-musks-neuralink-brain-chip-implanted-into-two-quadriplegic-canadian-patients
CanadaSep 05, 2025

Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chip implanted into two quadriplegic Canadian patients

Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants that have allowed them to control a computer with their thoughts. They are part of the first clinical trial outside of the United States to test the safety and effectiveness of Elon Musk's Neuralink wireless brain chip, which he introduced to the public in 2020, and was first implanted in a paralyzed American in 2024. The Canadian men, both around 30 years old – one from Ontario, the other from Alberta – have limited or no ability to use their hands. Dr. Andres Lozano, a neurosurgeon at University Health

Related News