UPDATED: École de l’Anse-au-sable COVID-19 outbreak in Kelowna grows to 11 cases
By Nelson Daily Staff
The COVID-19 outbreak at the École de l’Anse-au-sable in Kelowna has increased to 11 after Interior Health announced that six additional members of the school have tested positive.
The outbreak, first announced Wednesday, had only three confirmed cases at the time with 160 other people told to self-isolate and monitor symptoms.
“Although there has been an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, there are no new details related to the investigation to report,” Interior Health said in a media release.
Medical health officer, Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi said Interior Health is supporting the school community and coordinating efforts to ensure risk of COVID-19 spread is minimized.
“We closely monitor all contacts and provide families with information so that we can detect a possible infection early,” Dr Golmohammadi said.
“Following detection of a case, we immediately implement additional measures. This approach will minimize the risk of public exposure.”
Interior Health said there have been reports by École de l’Anse-au-sableof where family members of students and staff who are identified as “contacts” are being turned away from community activities.
“It is crucial that our community support one another through this difficult times when our individual community members impacted,” Dr Golmohammadi said.
“We urge everyone to remain calm and to support people, rather than create more fear and uncertainty through discrimination and prejudice.”
Another concern for Interior Health is the Building Blocks Educare, which has chosen to voluntarily and temporarily close their Gordon campus while it resolves staffing impacts related to COVID-19.
“We are working closely with Building Blocks childcare centre on a cluster of COVID-19 cases affecting a select group of its childcare centre community,” said Interior Health medical Dr. Silvina Mema.
“Cases of COVID-19 in the childcare setting are not unexpected. Interior Health public health is actively working with the childcare centre and we appreciate the excellent co-operation from their administrators and staff.”
Friday, the Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 223 new cases, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 12,554 cases in British Columbia.
There were no new reported COVID-19 related deaths Friday.
BC tops 200 new COVID-19 cases, first outbreak at Kelowna School
On a day the province registered a record-high 203 new COVID-19 cases, the province announced its first confirmed outbreak of the virus in the BC education system in a Kelowna School.
Interior Health and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed Wednesday, there has been an outbreak at the École de l’Anse-au-sable in Kelowna with three members of the school community confirmed positive for COVID-19.
“Public health teams have directed a further approximately 160 members of the school community to self-isolate for 14 days and monitor for symptoms,” said Dr. Henry in the daily COVID-19 media briefing from Victoria.
“Interior Health will provide ongoing updates as the investigation continues.”
Interior Health said this exposure occurred after members of the school community mixed with select cohorts and one another, while others mixed during a break.
“The individuals who are self-isolating were physically and administratively separate from the rest of the school community,” Interior Health said.
Interior Health continues to investigate and our medical health officers are providing support to the school administrators, staff, students and families.
Wednesday’s provincial new case numbers, including three epi-linked cases, raises the total of 12,057 cases in British Columbia.
Dr. Henry said there are 1,766 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 4,294 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and 9,993 people who tested positive have recovered.
“Currently, 70 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 21 of whom are in intensive care,” Dr. Henry said.
“The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.”
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 4,215 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 6,517 in the Fraser Health region, 244 in the Island Health region, 632 in the Interior Health region, 361 in the Northern Health region and 88 cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
Wednesday, Interior Health reported eight additional COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Henry reporter two new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 256 deaths in British Columbia.
“We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Henry.
There are 52 active cases or on isolation in Interior Health, with two people in hospital and one person in ICU.
