3 new cases in local schools

COVID-19 cases have been reported at three Kelowna schools.

Students or staff at Kelowna, Okanagan Mission and Mount Boucherie Secondary Schools have been exposed to the virus, the Central Okanagan School Board reported on Sunday.

“All individuals are self-isolating at home,” the school district said in a news release. Anyone potentially exposed to a confirmed case will be contacted by Interior Health.

Passengers on recent flights to Kelowna may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Air Canada flight 1125 from Toronto on Jan. 7 may have had a couple of COVID-infected passengers. People in rows 3-16 are advised to self-monitor for COVID symptoms.

Passengers in rows four to 10 on Air Canada flight 8414 from Vancouver on Jan. 5 should also self-monitor for COVID symptoms, the BC Centre for

Disease Control said.

Swoop flight 410 from Toronto on Jan. 4 is the other infected flight, potentially affecting passengers in rows 25-31.

The rollout of B.C.’s COVID-19 vaccine plan on Friday was a critical step forward, BC Liberal Health critic Renee Merrifield said in a statement.

“It means we have thankfully entered the next stage of this pandemic — it is not over yet, but we have a new reason to be hopeful,” the statement, released on Saturday, said.

The plan can be viewed on the bccdc.ca website. It identifies which groups of people will be receiving the vaccine first from now to February and which groups will follow in February and March.

Merrifield and the Liberals seemed to have had a change of heart about the rollout plan between Friday and Saturday.

In a Liberal caucus press release on Friday, Merrifield criticized the government for lack of details and specifics about the rollout. “The current NDP plan leaves British Columbians with more questions than answers,” that release said.

On Sunday, BC Premier John Horgan said more than 46,000 British Columbians have received a vaccine.

In another news release on Monday, Merrifield and Liberal Education Critic Jackie Tegart said they had written to Health Minister Adrian Dix calling for more transparency in public reporting of COVID-19 data, “including daily updates on vaccinations delivered and administered in each health authority and detailed daily case breakdowns for schools, long-term care homes and assisted living facilities.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the province is expanding COVID-19 vaccinations to include paramedics and other emergency service workers.

Kenney says almost 47,000 doses have been administered to front-line health and intensive care workers — including doctors and nurses — and to residents in long-term care homes and supportive living facilities.

He says the goal is to vaccinate about 200,000 Albertans a week by the end of March.