The number of COVID-19 cases in the Kelowna cluster continues to grow.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said “over 60” cases have been identified related to events and parties in the Kelowna area — an increase from the 35 reported on Friday.
Health officials have previously said they will meet with Interior Health and local government to discuss plans for the summer.
“The reproductive number is higher than one, and we have to do something about that,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said. The reproductive number quantifies how many people are infected by one person with the virus.
Over the past three days, the Interior Health Authority reported 45 new cases, bringing the region’s total since the beginning of the pandemic to 280.
“Most concerning is that in the past week and a half we have seen a growth in our cases, especially among young people,” Henry said.
Despite the growing numbers, Henry said she doesn’t consider the Kelowna outbreak a “superspreader event.” Rather, she said, the growth is related to a number of smaller events that “intermingled” with each other and the public.
45 new #COVID19 cases in Interior Health region over the weekend. Total now sits at 280. DBH says "over 60" cases now related to the #Kelowna cluster.
— Michael Rodriguez (@MichaelRdrguez) July 20, 2020
READ MORE: B.C. records 102 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths since Friday
READ MORE: Kelowna businesses close after recent COVID-19 concerns
Across the province, health authorities have recorded 102 new cases since Friday.
The new cases are from three reporting periods; 51 new cases from Friday to Saturday, 19 cases from Saturday to Sunday and 32 new cases from Sunday to Monday. That brings B.C.’s total number of cases to 3,300, of which 253 are currently active.
The province did not report any new deaths, leaving the death toll of the virus at 189.
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