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Weekly COVID-19 cases increasing in the Central Okanagan

Region records more than double late-February numbers between March 7 and 13
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A map showing new COVID-19 cases in Interior Health between March 7 and 13. (BCCDC)

Health officials identified 88 cases of COVID-19 in the Central Okanagan between March 7 and 13, new data from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows.

That’s 22 more cases than the 66 the region recorded the week previous, from Feb. 28 to March 6 and more than double the 42 cases noted between Feb. 21 and 27.

Still, the Central Okanagan sits well below its early-December peak, when more than 300 cases were identified in two consecutive weeks.

The increase can in part be attributed to recent outbreaks in Kelowna, which has two of Interior Health’s three ongoing outbreaks. Cottonwoods Care Centre has 23 cases, 20 residents and three staff, and Kelowna General Hospital has six, three patients and three staff.

Across the Okanagan, numbers most regions saw slight increases in the weekly case count.

Vernon noted a substantial increase to 26 from the previous week’s eight and Salmon Arm increased to nine from two. Enderby and Armstrong recorded two and three cases respectively, after noting just one the previous week.

Kamloops noted a more than 50 per cent decrease in new cases, recording 42 after the previous week’s 100. Merritt, which is also dealing with a care home outbreak, recorded 15 cases compared to 5 the week previous.

To the south, Penticton increased to seven cases from four the week before. Summerland, Keremeos and the Oliver/Osoyoos area each had one new case. The Princeton, Kettle Valley and Grand Forks areas each had no new cases.

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com


@michaelrdrguez
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