Here are the top stories of the week.
Story: Two flights through Kelowna airport in April had COVID-19 case aboard
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) is advising passengers on two flights at the Kelowna airport in early April that they shared the plane with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19.
Passengers on West Jet flight 3343 from Calgary to Kelowna on April 3 and West Jet flight 3325 from Kelowna to Vancouver on April 6 may have been exposed to the virus. No affected seats are specified for the flights and so according to the BCCDC all flight passengers should be self isolating and monitoring for symptoms for a period of 14 days following the flight.
Story: Unemployment up, Kelowna loses 2,000 jobs in March: StatCan
Employment in the Central Okanagan has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic — with the region losing about 2,000 jobs between February and March of this year.
Recently released data from Statistics Canada shows a decrease from nearly 104,000 employed workers in Kelowna in February to just under 102,000 in March.
Story: Three Okanagan golf courses set to open April 15
Central Okanagan golfers will soon be able to hit the links despite growing concerns amid COVID-19.
Three Okanagan golf courses have announced they will open to the public with new rules and conditions to ensure physical distancing and sanitation requirements implemented by the province’s health officials are met.
Shadow Ridge, Kelowna Springs and Shannon Lake are three of Play Golf Kelowna’s five courses, that will be open to the public beginning on Wednesday, April 15.
Story: Sanitizer giveaway at Kelowna distillery shut down after patrons become violent
A Kelowna distillery was giving away free hand sanitizer when fights broke out among some people waiting in the nearly 1,000-car-long line.
Forbidden Spirits Distilling Co. hosted its first ‘Sanitizer Saturday’ on April 11.
Story: Kelowna couple back home after being stranded in Holland America cruise
A Kelowna couple is now back home after they were stuck on the Holland cruise ship MS Maasdam as ports shut down due to COVID-19.
Al Janusas and Heidi Adhofer started their trip on March 1 in Auckland, New Zealand. Janusas said the cruise was to finish in Papeete, Tahiti. But as the COVID-19 outbreak worsened, passengers were told they were barred from nearly half of the ports there were to visit.
However a port in Hawaii was to accept two cruise ships including the MS Maasdam, so the Holland America cruise ship started towards the island, where the passengers could try to arrange ways to get back home.
Interior Health issues warning over COVID-19 outbreak at Alberta work camp
Interior Health has issued a warning after health officials identified a COVID-19 outbreak at a work camp in northern Alberta.
“Many residents in the Interior Health region travel to work camps in Alberta for employment and that there is potential for transmission between communities and between our provinces,” Interior Health said in a statement on Saturday (April 18).
The outbreak was declared on April 15 at the Kearl Lake oil sands project, north of Fort McMurray. So far 12 people connected with the camp have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
<div style="color: #808080
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