COVID-19 cases continue to rise sharply in the Kamloops area and parts of the southern and northern Interior.
According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, for the week of Jan. 10-16 there were 97 cases in the Kamloops local health area (LHA), which also includes Chase, the north Shuswap, Sun Peaks, Barriere, Little Fort, Logan Lake, Tobiano, and Savona.
In that timeframe last week, the 100 Mile House LHA saw 24 cases and the Cariboo Chilcotin saw a whopping 140; both of those increases are well above 20 cases per 100,000 residents. The Revelstoke and Hope LHAs also saw similar large increases per capita, with 16 and 18 cases last week, respectively.
In fact, Interior Health declared a COVID-19 community cluster in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region, noting that since Jan.1 , there have been 215 people who tested positive for COVID-19, 74 of which are people in nearby First Nations communities.
There are currently 158 active cases linked to this cluster.
“As we have seen in recent years, this community has a history of coming together during challenging times in the face of adversity. Now is no different: we must stay focused and reduce the spread of this virus together by strictly following public health orders and direction,” said IHA President and CEO, Susan Brown.
“I want to thank local First Nation chiefs, our healthcare staff and physicians, and community leaders for their dedication and hard work as we respond together to this increase in COVID-19 activity in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.”
The health authority says of the 215 cases, most are related to COVID-19 transmission that occurred at recent social events and gatherings in Williams Lake.
People are being asked to limit social gatherings to their household bubble only, and follow other public health guidelines like wearing a mask, washing hands, and physical distancing.
Updates on this cluster will be released on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Health Minister says to ‘dig in’ as Interior Health cases rise
B.C.’s Health Minister says people in Interior Health and Northern Health have to “dig in.”
Adrian Dix says people in the Kamloops area, in particular, have done an exceptional job at following public health advice during the pandemic. But he says people need to double down with cases rising.
“We’re seeing a lot of cases in Interior Health, and inevitably this affects the most vulnerable. It is a fact that community spread, at a certain level, always leads to more outbreaks in long-term care. So now is the time to dig in, that COVID-19 is everywhere in B.C. It’s everywhere in Interior Health, it’s everywhere in Northern Health, and in all of the other health authorities.”
Several LHAs within Interior Health, though, have seen minimal case counts. There were zero cases last week in the North Thompson LHA, which includes Clearwater, Vavenby and Blue River, and only one case in the South Cariboo LHA which includes Clinton, Cache Creek, Ashcroft, Spences Bridge and Lytton.
A full map of last week’s COVID-19 case count by locations can be found here.
