People walking on the promenade along Okanagan Lake in Downtown Kelowna on May 18, 2020. (Michael Rodriguez - Capital News)

People walking on the promenade along Okanagan Lake in Downtown Kelowna on May 18, 2020. (Michael Rodriguez - Capital News)

COVID-19 cases identified in Kelowna, after public gatherings

Those who were downtown or at the waterfront from June 25 to July 6 maybe have been exposed to COVID-19.

  • Jul. 10, 2020 12:00 a.m.

Contact tracing and further investigation of current COVID-19 cases has allowed Interior Health (IH) to identify two specific locations in Kelowna where individuals may recently have been exposed to COVID-19.

IH is urging anyone who attended private gatherings at the following locations on the dates noted to self-isolate and monitor themselves closely for symptoms of COVID-19, and get tested if they have symptoms:

  • Discovery Bay Resort (1088 Sunset Dr., Kelowna) from July 1 to 5.
  • Boyce Gyro Beach Lodge (3591 Lakeshore Rd., Kelowna) on July 1.

There are eight cases identified to date, six of the individuals are those who reside outside of Interior Health. IH continues to work with other jurisdictions to determine the source of disease for these cases.

Public health contact tracing is underway and, if IH is made aware of potential exposures to COVID-19, CDU will be reaching out directly to ask those individuals to self-isolate for 14 days.

However, given the number of cases and potential locations involved, IH is urging anyone who participated in events over these dates to monitor closely for symptoms of COVID-19.

The symptoms of COVID-19 include the following:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Loss of sense of taste or smell

Other milder symptoms may include: runny nose, fatigue, body aches (muscles and joints aching), diarrhea, headache, sore throat, vomiting and red eyes.

Anyone who develops COVID-19 symptoms is asked to get themselves tested for COVID-19. A list of testing and assessment centres is available here.

Testing is not recommended for people who have no symptoms.

IH is reminding everyone of the importance of following COVID-19 precautions:

  • Stay home and avoid travel if you have symptoms, even mild ones.
  • Maintain physical distancing (two metres apart) and use masks when distancing is not possible.
  • Wash your hands regularly and do not touch your face.
  • Do not plan or attend gatherings of more than 50 people. Limit gatherings to out of doors whenever possible.

READ MORE: Pedestrian numbers skyrocket on car free Bernard Avenue

READ MORE: B.C. sees 25 new COVID-19 cases, community exposure tracked

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Nelson Star