A Kamloops councillor is not happy with a lack of communication from Interior Health after a curler at a bonspiel with nearly 200 people has tested positive for COVID-19.

People who attended the event at the Kamloops Curling Club were notified, but no public notice has gone out otherwise.

Bill Sarai is critical of that approach for communicating.

“What got me concerned was, what about the general public that was there? That just came off the street, or a brother or sister, or a family member or friend who came to watch them play. How do they get informed if they’re not a member of the Curling Club? Those people are going on with their everyday lives, could be infected, and they could be passing it on, over and over and over again, not knowing,” Sarai says.

“I think the more they inform us of the cases, the more this is going to be real in people’s eyes here. A lot of people in Kamloops, and probably B.C., aren’t taking this seriously. And that’s where Interior Health could take a better role in sharing more information to let people know that this is here, and this is serious. And this isn’t going to cause a panic.”

The limit to public gatherings was still 250 people when the bonspiel happened, from March 12 to 15, whic 192 people attended.

Nearly 24 hours later, at time of posting, Interior Health has still not responded to questions from NL News related to the communication on that COVID-19 exposure.

Sarai also praised the work of front-line workers in healthcare during the pandemic, saying the city is concerned about their health and safety.