New cases fall in Central Okanagan, rise in other parts of Interior

Photo: BC CDC

New COVID-19 cases by local health area, identified between Dec. 27 and Jan. 2.

New cases of COVID-19 continue to steadily fall in the Central Okanagan, while case numbers have recently risen in the South Okanagan, Kamloops and Revelstoke areas.

The BC Centre for Disease Control recently released its weekly detailed geographical COVID-19 data showing new infections identified between Dec. 27 and Jan. 2.

Over that period, 139 residents of the Central Okanagan contracted the virus, down from 214 the previous week and 262 the week before that.

Just 15 new cases were found in Penticton last week, less than half of the 31 from the week prior.

Cases have been rising steadily in the Vernon area in recent weeks though, where 76 new cases were identified last week. This is the highest number of weekly cases in the area since the the BC CDC began releasing weekly data at the end of November.

Meanwhile, cases in the South Okanagan spiked to 27 last week, fuelled by an outbreak at Oliver's McKinney Place care home, where 13 residents have died.

Cases also rose in the Kamloops area last week, with 68 new cases – a new high since weekly data has been released.

Further east, new highs were also seen in Revelstoke, where 37 new cases were found, and in the Golden area, where 14 cases were found. The week before, Golden had zero new cases.

As cases rise in many parts of the Interior, new case numbers have fallen or remained relatively stable in the Lower Mainland, where the virus has surged through the second wave. The Surrey region, which has led the way in new cases for months, had 901 new cases last week, down from a high of 1,588 weekly cases at the beginning of December.