Interior Health provide COVID-19 update, additional Kelowna location identified
By Nelson Daily Staff
Interior Health said in a media release Wednesday that further testing of individuals has identified an additional location in Kelowna where individuals may have been exposed to COVID-19.
Interior Health said individuals who visited Browns Socialhouse, 100-1544 Harvey Avenue, on July 13 or July 16-19 are asked to self-monitor themselves closely for symptoms of COVID-19 and to get tested if they begin to exhibit symptoms.
“Public health contact tracing is under way, and where possible, IH is reaching out directly to individuals who have been exposed,” the Interior Health release said.
Interior Health said individuals seeking a test should call their primary care provider (family physician or nurse practitioner) or the closest Interior Health community testing and assessment centre.
COVID-19 testing
Testing is recommended for anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, including:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Loss of sense of taste or smell
- Other milder symptoms may include: runny nose, fatigue, body aches (muscles and joints aching), diarrhea, headache, sore throat, vomiting and red eyes.
IH reminds everyone of the importance of following COVID-19 precautions:
- Stay home and avoid travel if you have symptoms, even mild ones.
- Maintain physical distancing (two metres apart) and use masks when distancing is not possible.
- Wash your hands regularly and do not touch your face.
- Do not plan or attend gatherings of more than 50 people. Limit gatherings to out of doors whenever possible.
Kelowna community cases
As reported by the Provincial Health Officer Wednesday, there are now 78 cases linked to the COVID-19 cluster in Kelowna with 66 of those are individuals are from Interior Health (others are from Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health).
“As part of the ongoing investigations, one additional case of COVID-19 has been confirmed among employees at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), bringing the total number of cases among health care workers to seven,” the Interior Health release said.
“Like the initial cases, this is a community case and not acquired in hospital. No patients have been impacted and the risk to patients and staff at the hospital remains low.”
Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, said Wednesday that there are 34 new cases, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 3,362 cases in British Columbia.
During Wednesday media briefing, the two said there are 285 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,888 people who tested positive have recovered.
Dr. Henry and Dix said of the total COVID-19 cases, 17 individuals are hospitalized, three of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,049 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,742 in the Fraser Health region, 141 in the Island Health region, 304 in the Interior Health region, 69 in the Northern Health region and 57 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
“There have been no new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 189 deaths in British Columbia,” Dr. Henry said. “We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
While there have been no new health-care facility outbreaks There are several community exposure events and one active community outbreak.
“Public health teams are actively contact tracing and requesting the assistance of anyone who may have been exposed to monitor themselves closely and follow public health guidance,” Dr. Henry said.
“The B.C. COVID-19 curve is trending upward. We need to bend it back down to where it belongs.
“We have proven that we know how to do this, and now each of us needs to make that happen.”
Information on public exposures to COVID-19 within the Interior Health region are available here: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/
Answers to frequently asked questions are available on the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control website, available here: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/common-questions
