As expected, a majority of new COVID-19 cases reported in Interior Health last week were in the Kelowna area.

New data from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows a whopping 450 new cases in the Central Okanagan between July 25 and July 31. The local health authority includes the communities of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, and Peachland as well as places in between.

That is up 194 per cent when compared to the 153 cases reported there between July 18 and July 24.

In the Kamloops local health area, there were just 26 new cases in the final week of July, compared to 29 the week before. The Kamloops LHA includes the City of Kamloops as well as Logan Lake, Savona, Tobiano, Chase, Sun Peaks, Barriere, and Little Fort.

Today’s data comes one week after a COVID-19 outbreak was declared in the Central Okanagan because of an increase in cases there. Masks have been mandatory in indoor public spaces in that part of B.C., with travel also being discouraged into and out of the Central Okanagan unless you are fully immunized.

In Interior Health, there were 171 of the 342 new COVID-19 cases reported today. Active cases in the health authority are now at 945 people, with 819 active cases across the rest of the province.

Data also shows there were 59 new cases in the Vernon area, 38 in the Nelson area, 20 in Salmon Arm, 18 in Castlegar, and 16 in Cranbrook. There were no new cases reported in Merritt, 100 Mile, the Cariboo-Chilcotin, and the South Cariboo.

You can find the latest map with new COVID cases online here.