It’s good news for Delta’s first responders who are now in the priority groups getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Fraser Health has confirmed that eligible Delta police and firefighters began booking immunization appointments on Sunday and have started receiving their COVID-19 immunizations as part of the health region’s strategy to manage high-risk and high-priority areas.
“I’m very grateful that our Delta Police officers and many of our employees who interact with the public now have the opportunity to be vaccinated,” said Chief Neil Dubord.
“This will help keep them safe, as they work every day to help ensure the safety of the public. And I want to acknowledge all the hardworking health care workers, who’ve been on the front lines of this pandemic for so long. Thank you so much for all you do.”
Delta Fire Chief Guy McKintuck said the members are relieved to be getting vaccinated.
“It is a huge relief, not only for me, but for our front-line staff,” he said. “Some of the anxiety that our members have had is are we transitioning fast enough to meet the provincial requirements as far as PPE, distancing, etc. We have done a phenomenal job as a city, but as things have been changing, there has been levels of uncertainty. Now that uncertainty is a lot less.”
The province notes that it is working with Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and Northern Health authorities to increase appointments in the high-transmission neighbourhoods, primarily using the AstraZeneca vaccine.
High-transmission communities have been prioritized based on COVID-19 cases, outbreaks and hospitalizations
While North Delta has been deemed a higher-risk area, the province still is not breaking down the City of Delta’s case numbers to the individual communities of North Delta, Ladner or Tsawwassen, something the city has requested.
According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control’s most recent monthly COVID-19 map, the City of Delta had 3,337 people infected overall from January 2020 to the end of March 2021.
That’s up 614 cases from the BCCDC’s previous month’s map, which covered the period until the end of February 2021.
Meanwhile, according to the latest BCCDC monthly map, Surrey had 26,103 cases overall, up 4,406 cases from the previous month’s map.
The BCCDC’s weekly maps of current COVID-19 cases for Delta has seen steady increases each week during April.
