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New information map shows COVID-19 case numbers for West Kootenay/Boundary

Nelson Daily Staff
By Nelson Daily Staff
August 28th, 2020

The COVID-19 information most of the public in West Kootenay/Boundary wanted to hear was released Thursday by the BC Public Health Office on the BC Centre of Disease Control website.

During Thursday’s COVID-19 briefing, Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s provincial health officer, released the latest information for communities across the province.

The Geographic Distribution of COVID-19 by Local Health Area of Case Residence map as of Friday shows Nelson with six (6) reported cases.

“Today, we have provided the latest local health area map of COVID-19 cases,” Dr. Henry told the briefing.

“The map will be updated each month and available on the BCCDC website,” Dr. Henry added.

“What the map tells us is that virtually every part of our province has been touched by the virus – communities large and small.”

The health map shows Nelson with the most reported COVID-19 cases in the region other than Fernie with seven (7).

Cranbrook reports four (4) along with the Castlegar area. Grand Forks has three (3) while the Kettle Valley, Trail, Creston, Kimberley each list a single case.

“Despite the spread of COVID-19, we must continue to find the balance of restarting our activities once again, while protecting our most vulnerable by doing our best to keep ourselves and those we care about safe,” Dr. Henry said.

Most of the cases in the Interior Health region are reserved for the Kelowna, Central Okanagan area at 209. Kamloops has 53 reported cases.

The map shows:

  • This map offers the most granular geographic level data at which COVID-19 case counts in British Columbia are released.
  • The data comes from the 5 regional health authorities and the map will be updated after the end of each month.
  • The number of reported cases in the LHA appears under each label.
  • The number of cases in the LHA indicates the place of residence of the case. It may not represent the location of exposure (e.g. people who acquired disease while traveling or working elsewhere). Cases with unknown residence and from out of province are not mapped.

Meanwhile, Interior Health released Thursday staff is investigating an outbreak at a construction site on a water treatment plant adjacent to Teck Fording River Operations near Elkford, B.C.

Interior Health said seven people associated with construction of the water treatment facility have subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to their home communities.

Interior Health said six of the workers reside in Alberta and one resides on Vancouver Island.

“Although the worksite is in the Interior, no cases are currently linked to Interior Health or the surrounding communities,” the Interior Health media release said.

“At this time, we do not believe there is a risk to the public, however we are actively investigating and will provides updates if the situation evolves.”

“Though the outbreak is linked to a water treatment facility, water quality is not impacted at this site,” Interior Health added.

Categories: GeneralHealth

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