The Central Okanagan tops the charts for the most COVID-19 cases in the province, according to data from the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Approximately 500 total cases were reported in the Central Okanagan between July 27 and Aug. 2, much higher than the rest of the province. The region now represents 36 per cent of B.C.’s COVID-19 cases, despite only having 4 per cent of the provincial population. The average daily case rate of new cases in the Central Okanagan is 36 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.
The Central Okanagan area is also lagging behind on COVID-19 vaccinations, despite the province reducing the wait time between doses to 28 days, as opposed to the original 49 days. Only 76 per cent of eligible people have gotten their first dose, and only 63 per cent have gotten their second dose.
This comes after the province and Interior Health declared an outbreak and announced a mandatory mask mandate for the entire Central Okanagan area on July 28.
The Interior Health region leads recent provincial COVID-19 case counts, and vaccination rates for the entire region have been lower the provincial average. The majority of new COVID-19 infections are from people who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, said Interior Health.
Data from the BC Centre for Disease Control also indicate that 89 per cent of new infections are from the Delta variant.
READ MORE: Mask mandate returns to Central Okanagan, COVID-19 outbreak declared
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