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80 more cases of COVID-19 in Interior Health over the weekend

Fifteen people in the health authority are hospitalized with the virus and three of them are in intensive care
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A vial of some of the first 500,000 of the two million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses that Canada has secured through a deal with the Serum Institute of India in partnership with Verity Pharma at a facility in Milton, Ont., on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Carlos Osorio

Health officials identified another 80 cases of COVID-19 in Interior Health (IH) over the weekend.

The new cases bring the total in the region to date to 7,857, of which 346 remain active. A total of 110 people have died due to complications stemming from the virus in the region.

Fifteen people in the health authority are hospitalized with the virus and three of them are in intensive care.

At Cottonwoods Care Centre in Kelowna, another 10 cases were identified over the weekend for a total of 23 cases (20 residents, three staff). IH states this is not a single-day spike, but rather an increase over time since the last report. IH began broad surveillance testing at the facility late last week on asymptomatic and residents with mild symptoms; those results began coming in late Friday. No new cases were identified after the surveillance testing.

“Finding additional cases is not unexpected as we are conducting surveillance testing of residents and staff as part of the outbreak measures to ensure we limit the spread of COVID-19,” said IH’s chief medical health officer Dr. Albert de Villiers.

“Vaccines remain an effective tool for fighting the pandemic and I encourage everyone to book an appointment when they are eligible.”

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IH offered the floowing update on outbreaks across the health authority:

  • Kelowna General Hospital unit 5B has six cases: three patients and three staff.
  • The Florentine in Merritt has two resident cases.
  • Cottonwoods Care Centre long-term care in Kelowna has 23 cases: 20 residents and three staff.

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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