BC Is Warning People In Kelowna About Large Scale COVID-19 Exposures Downtown

Be aware of this! A COVID-19 exposure in Kelowna at the waterfront and downtown has prompted a warning by health officials in B.C. A large number of people might have come in contact with the virus there over an almost two week period. 

B.C.'s Interior Health put out a public service announcement on July 10 about the possible exposure between June 25 and July 6.

A number of positive tests have come back from people who went to private gatherings and visited businesses in the area including restaurants and bars during that time.

The specific concern is about large events downtown and at the waterfront on Canada Day and the holiday weekend.

So far, eight people have tested positive for the virus that were out during those times and six of them live outside of the Interior Health region.

According to the CBC, public health officials believe that all these people got infected elsewhere.

Contact tracing is being done and if Interior Health identifies a close contact, that person will be notified directly.

They'll also be asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Since there are quite a few cases and a lot of locations involved, officials are asking anyone who was at events during that almost two week period to monitor for symptoms.

Dr. Silvina Mema told the CBC that of the people who tested positive that live outside of the region, most are from the province's Lower Mainland and Alberta.

"These are individuals who came here to spend time with friends, so there are a number of different restaurants and pubs, the waterfront area that they have been at," she said.

Officials said that COVID-19 tests aren't recommended for people who don't have symptoms.

However, anyone who wants to get one can call their primary healthcare provider or the nearest Interior Health community testing and assessment centre.

On the same day that the possible exposure in Kelowna was announced, B.C.'s provincial health officials updated case counts.

There were 25 new cases that brought the number of active ones to 187.

B.C. isn't one of the hardest-hit provinces during the COVID-19 pandemic but total case counts are in the thousands.

Newfoundland, one of the provinces with just a couple hundred cases, got its first positive one recently after going almost two months without any.