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West Kootenay COVID-19 cases drop again

New cases are slowly sliding in number from summer highs
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New COVID-19 weekly cases continue to slide in the West Kootenay following summer surges. Illustration: BC Centre for Disease Control

New COVID-19 cases are in decline across the West Kootenay.

Grand Forks’ local health area led the region with 24 new cases during the week of Sept. 12 to 18, according to data provided by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Creston recorded 19, followed by Trail (17), Nelson (11), Castlegar (six) and four in the Arrow Lakes area that includes Nakusp. There were no new cases in the Kootenay Lake area that includes Crawford Bay.

In Nelson’s area, which includes Salmo and parts of the Slocan Valley, 76 per cent of residents ages 12 and older have now had their first vaccine dose. That number drops, however, to 68 per cent who are fully vaccinated as of Sept. 21.

Only 47 per cent of 12-to-17-year-olds have had two doses, while 60 per cent of people between the ages of 18-to-49 are completely vaccinated. Seventy-eight per cent of residents 50-years-old and older have had two shots of vaccine.

Elsewhere, Trail leads the West Kootenay with 79 per cent of eligible residents vaccinated, followed by Castlegar (72), Grand Forks (69), Arrow Lakes (68), Kootenay Lake (64) and Creston (61).

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