After weeks of COVID-19 case counts trending down in the South Okanagan and Penticton — almost to zero — cases are once again on the upward swing.
New data from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) shows there were three new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Penticton from Feb. 14 to 20, up from the single case seen in the previous week.
In the South Okanagan area encompassing Oliver and Osoyoos, there were 10 new cases recorded from Feb. 14 to 20, up from the three cases recorded in the previous week.
In Keremeos there were no new cases recorded after just one was recorded the previous week. The village has registered either no cases or totals in the single digits since weekly numbers began being released.
The BC CDC began releasing local case counts at the beginning of December 2020. After an initial spike in cases, numbers have been trending down in recent weeks as outbreaks at local care homes come to an end.
From January 2020 to January 2021 there were 235 total cases recorded in the South Okanagan area, 257 in Penticton and 17 in Keremeos.
Elsewhere in the Okanagan cases continued to decline Feb 14 to 20. The central Okanagan — the region’s most populous area — recorded just 36 new cases in that time-frame.
Across the province, the most cases were recorded in Surrey with 579.
READ MORE: Weekly COVID-19 case count continues downward trend in Central Okanagan
READ MORE: Oliver councillor calls on province to give seniors dignity and safety in long-term care
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