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SCOOP: Today I finally received local numbers for the COVID-19 deaths. Because I had to file an FOI request, they're only as of Dec. 11. But they're surprising.Surrey was NOT the hardest hit city, in terms of COVID-19 deaths. Vancouver had twice as many.
Even though those figures only go to Dec. 11, by that point, Fraser South had been posting huge case numbers - more than twice as high as Vancouver - for more than a month. But far more people had died in Vancouver. (It's possible some of these deaths were in first wave)
Pretty clearly, places like West with senior populations were hit very bad. In West Vancouver, one of every 1,200 people had perished from COVID-19 by Dec. 11. White Rock also had high per-capita numbers.
46 people had died in Abbotsford by Dec. 11, putting the city as the fifth-hardest hit. 64 died in Langley, site of the deadliest LTC outbreak.
*Of note, I'm not sure if the numbers for Langley/N.Van are for both municipalities. I've assumed so for per-capita calculations.
*Of note, I'm not sure if the numbers for Langley/N.Van are for both municipalities. I've assumed so for per-capita calculations.
I got these figures via a Freedom of Information request. I had previously asked for death numbers and been rejected. To get this version, I pointed to overdose death figures released by the government. So I don't have numbers for places with five or fewer cases.
Finally, I have NO idea why the government doesn't release these numbers on a regular basis.
Through November and December, people were pointing at Surrey, thinking the virus was focused THERE, when it was killing at a far quicker clip in many other Lower Mainland cities.
Through November and December, people were pointing at Surrey, thinking the virus was focused THERE, when it was killing at a far quicker clip in many other Lower Mainland cities.
Here's a version of that chart with lines that make it easier to read. And also the link to the slightly interactive version:
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/CKpH3/1/
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/CKpH3/1/
As several people suggested, it would be good to compare deaths to ages. So I did the best I could with the information we have here: https://twitter.com/ty_olsen/status/1353080852511510530
