Grand Forks is a “hot spot” of COVID-19 cases within B.C., according to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Henry in a press conference Thursday afternoon, June 10, contrasted the city’s recent spike in active cases with local health areas (LHAs) across much of the province, where she said cases had either dropped or were absent altogether.
READ MORE: Boundary School District reports growing number of COVID-19 infections over weekend
“Happily, we see that in most areas of the province there have been little to no cases, in many, many communities. There continues to be transmission in the Lower Mainland and a few hots spots, including in the Peace Region, in the North and also in the Grand Forks area,” she said.
Henry spoke against a virtual backdrop showing the BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BC CDC’s) latest map of case numbers by LHAs. Grand Forks and the surrounding area show up in dark orange, in sharp contrast to the Kettle River Valley Trail and Castlegar LHAs, which showed up in yellow and white.
The Interior Health Authority has not declared an outbreak in Grand Forks as of Thursday afternoon.
There are 11 active COVID cases in the Grand Forks LHA, according to the BC CDC’s latest COVID map, released Wednesday, June 9. Those numbers covered cases reported between May 30 and June 5.
The recent spike in cases dovetails at least seven cases within the Boundary School District (SD51) following exposures at Grand Forks Secondary School and potential exposures at Christina Lake Elementary and Grand Forks’ John A. Hutton Elementary, according to emails by SD 51’s acting superintendent, Anna Lautard, and Interior Health’s website.
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