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33 new COVID-19 cases in Interior Health

There are currently 341 active cases of COVID-19 in the region
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Pharmacy Technician Katrina Bonwick draws a does of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready for use at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Thirty-three new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Interior Health (IH) region as of Friday, March 19.

There were no new deaths reported, with the death toll remaining at 113 since the pandemic began. On Thursday, March 18, it was announced that one of the deaths was connected to an outbreak at Kelowna General Hospital.

Currently, 15 individuals are hospitalized due to the virus, with four in intensive care.

The total number of active cases in the region is 341.

IH also announced the outbreak at The Florentine in Merritt over. Two residents were affected by the outbreak.

The health authority provided the following update for current outbreaks:

  • Cottonwoods Care Centre long-term care in Kelowna has 23 cases: 20 residents and three staff.
  • Kelowna General Hospital unit 5B has eight cases: four patients and four staff, with one death connected to the outbreak.

Provincial health officials announced 737 cases of the virus on Friday, after 622 new infections on Thursday. The last two days are a notable increase from recent days.

But due to increasing vaccine protection, there have been no new health care outbreaks.

READ: B.C.’s COVID-19 case count climbs to 737 on Friday


Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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