Photo: Nicholas Johansen

Downtown Kelowna Friday afternoon.

UPDATE: 7 p.m.

Interior Health is refusing to identify the downtown Kelowna businesses that were attended by the eight people who have recently tested positive for COVID-19. 

Friday afternoon, IH put out an advisory, warning the public that eight people recently tested positive for the virus, after attending private events, bars and restaurants in Kelowna's downtown core from June 26 to July 6.

While Vancouver Coastal Health has identified the locations of recent "exposure events" in the Metro Vancouver area, at Brandi's Exotic Show Lounge, Hotel Belmont and No. 5 Orange, IH will not identify what restaurants and bars they know were attended by the COVID-positive people. 

"Not at this time," IH Medical Health Officer Dr. Silvina Mema said in a statement. "We don’t have a full list of locations. We also do not want to create false sense of security. We don’t have evidence that the cases got the disease at these businesses, only that they were there while sick."

IH has not said if the businesses that were attended by the COVID-positive people have been notified, only that "public health contact tracing is underway and, if IH is made aware of potential exposures to COVID-19, our [communicable disease unit] will be reaching out directly to ask those individuals to self-isolate for 14 days.

"However, given the number of cases and potential locations involved, we are urging anyone who participated in events over these dates to monitor closely for symptoms of COVID-19."

Six of the eight recent COVID-19 cases in Kelowna are from people who live outside the IH region. 

ORIGINAL: 4:45 p.m.

At least eight people have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending private gatherings and visiting downtown restaurants and bars.

An advisory sent out by Interior Health late Friday afternoon suggests anyone who attended gatherings in downtown Kelowna and on the waterfront from June 25 through July 6 may have been exposed.

Of particular concern are larger events on Canada Day and around the holiday weekend.

Of the eight cases already identified, IH officials say six are from individuals who live outside Interior Health boundaries.

"Public health contact tracing is underway and, if IH is made aware of potential exposures to COVID-19, our CDU will be reaching out directly to ask those individuals to self-isolate for 14 days," the news release states.

"However, given the number of cases and potential locations involved, we are urging anyone who participated in events over these dates to monitor closely for symptoms of COVID-19."

Symptoms include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Loss of sense of taste or smell
• Other milder symptoms may include: runny nose, fatigue, body aches (muscles and joints aching), diarrhea, headache, sore throat, vomiting and red eyes.

Anyone who develops COVID-19 symptoms is asked to get themselves tested for COVID-19.

Click here for a list of testing and assessment centres.

Interior Health says it is working with other jurisdictions to determine the source of the disease.

To help stop the spread of COVID-19, IH suggests the following precautions:

• Stay home and avoid travel if you have symptoms, even mild ones.
• Maintain physical distancing (two metres apart) and use masks when distancing is not possible.
• Wash your hands regularly and do not touch your face.
• Do not plan or attend gatherings of more than 50 people. Limit gatherings to out of doors whenever possible.