The province declared an end to the Kelowna COVID-19 outbreak on Monday, but there are over 1,000 active cases province-wide as the fall influenza season approaches.
Geographical data put out by the province last week shows the Central Okanagan has the largest cumulative case count in B.C.’s Interior since the beginning of the pandemic with a total of 209 cases, with over 100 cases coming from the “Kelowna cluster” following private parties during the Canada Day long weekend in July.
“The Kelowna area cluster that started after the long weekend in July has now been officially declared over as we have had no new cases associated with that over the last few weeks,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, during Monday’s provincial update.
There are 1,107 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C. as of Aug. 31.
A total of 2,723 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and 4,466 people who tested positive have recovered. There have been four new COVID-19 related deaths as of Monday, for a total of 208 deaths in B.C. since the start of the pandemic.
The upcoming fall season’s likelihood to increase instances of respiratory illnesses will be another challenge for British Columbians as the social summer season comes to an end, Henry said.
“After many months of restrictions we all needed to reconnect with our family, with friends, with our communities this summer. We travelled, we enjoyed our province and many of us recharged. Now we must slow down on our social interactions and we must prepare for the respiratory season ahead,” Henry said. “We’ve talked many times about the fact that we will likely have a second wave. We’ve seen a surge in cases but we’ve managed to keep our curve flat and we need to continue to do that work as we move into our respiratory season.”
“As we step into our offices our workplaces our schools we need to take a step back from some of the social interactions we’ve had this summer.”
There have been six total cases in the South Okanagan (Okanagan Falls, Oliver, Osoyoos) from January to July 2020. There has been a total of five cases in Penticton, two in Summerland and zero test-positive cases in surrounding Keremeos and Princeton. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control will be releasing cumulative regional statistics at the end of each month.
Source: BC Centre for Disease Control.
