The latest COVID-19 wave may be on a downward trajectory in B.C., health officials announced Friday.
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix shared the latest modelling data in a morning news conference, revealing they believe the local peak of infections was likely hit last weekend.
Officials suggested that transmission is still likely three to four times the numbers reported daily.
That B.C. may have reached its peak in this wave so quickly isn't a huge surprise, officials said, explaining the Omicron variant has shown to have both a shorter incubation period and a shorter illness duration.
But even with cases declining, hospitalization rates are increasing. Officials explained those rates tend to be delayed compared to infections and that it could be about two more weeks before there's a decrease in those numbers.
Seventy percent of people in ICU in the last month are unvaccinated.