Kelowna cluster will keep growing

Cases number 130 as virus creeps wider

Parties held in Kelowna around Canada Day are now responsible for 130 people being infected with COVID19, health officials say.

And the number is likely to continue to rise as the disease develops in those who’ve been exposed to the coronavirus but are not yet displaying any symptoms of COVID-19.

Previously, the number of cases attached to the so-called “Kelowna cluster” was limited to those people whose infections were known to have been directly linked to specific downtown events and businesses July 1.

“We now know the situation has shifted into more broad community transmission beyond these initial cases in downtown Kelowna,” reads a statement issued Thursday by Interior Health. “This new reporting will more accurately reflect what is happening in the city and the region.”

Last week, Interior Health put the number of cases in the Kelowna cluster at 78. The increase to 130 may seem dramatic, but health officials say the rise is not due to a rapid increase in new infections, but to the change in the way previously recorded cases are now being categorized.

“These are previously reported Interior Health cases being categorized differently,” the bulletin says.

Going forward, however, the Kelowna cluster is likely to stand out for both its size and the fact that it is the only specific B.C. community for which an ongoing COVID-19 case count will be provided.

With the long weekend coming up, city officials are encouraging people not to make beaches too crowded.

“As a general rule, if you can’t find a spot to put down your towel that is at least six feet away from others, the beach is too busy,” city risk manager Lance Kayfish says.

“We ask that you simply be flexible in your weekend plans, try a different spot, or simply come back later when it’s less busy.”

Summer’s second long weekend must be observed in a safer way than the first if B.C. is to avoid another surge in COVID-19 infections, provincial officials say.

People must maintain their physical distance from those outside their personal bubbles and avoid gathering with strangers in social settings, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday.

Violation of those rules — particularly at parties in Kelowna around the Canada Day holiday — were responsible for a significant rise in infections, Henry said.

“Let’s make this long weekend a different one than what we saw in early July,” Henry said during the province’s daily update on the pandemic.

“Whether you are 15, 25, or 55, celebrate our incredible province by socializing safely. The actions you take do make a difference and we have seen that in the last few weeks,” Henry said.

After weeks of declining virus infection numbers, the pattern changed in early July with case counts rising once again.

“Much of this surge can be connected to Canada Day activities in and around the Central Okanagan and particularly in the city of Kelowna,” Henry said.

“What we saw is that when our groups are too big and we have too many people outside of our household bubble getting together . . . we know that the potential for the virus to spread increases.”

Health Minister Adrian Dix underscored the need for a safer observance of the BC Day long weekend by suggesting some alternate meanings of the abbreviation BC — Battle Covid, Break the Chain, and Bend the Curve.

“That would be a BC Day weekend to remember,” Dix said.

Although health officials said Wednesday that the number of active COVID-19 cases across Kelowna would be released on Thursday, neither Henry nor Dix made any such reference during the briefing.

Twenty-nine new cases provincewide were reported between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the total to 3,591 since the onset of the pandemic.

The Kelowna community exposure, traced mainly to large parties at two city resort properties, was said earlier by Interior Health to have been linked to 78 COVID-19 infections.

Dr. Silvina Mema, a medical health officer with Interior Health, wrote in an email this week that number has now climbed by at least 50.

As well, more than 1,000 people across B.C. have been told to self-isolate because of their potential direct exposure to those who have caught COVID-19 because of the Kelowna parties.