Interior Health (IH) reported 79 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, Dec. 22, as the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were administered in the region.
A total of 691 cases remain active. Thirty-one people are in hospital, seven of whom are in intensive care.
The death toll in the region remains at 17, after seven deaths were reported over the weekend.
The first vaccines were doled out Tuesday in IH’s two largest cities, Kelowna and Kamloops. The two recipients both worked in health care.
READ MORE: First COVID-19 vaccine administered in Kelowna
The Big White cluster grew by 20 cases to 96 total. Of the known cases, 69 reside on the mountain. Sixty-four individuals have recovered and nobody tied to the cluster has been hospitalized.
COVID-19 cluster at @BigWhite grows to 96 cases as @Interior_Health confirms 20 new cases today.
Sixty-nine of those people reside on the mountain. Sixty-four people have recovered; none in hospital.
— Michael Rodriguez (@MichaelRdrguez) December 22, 2020
IH declared an outbreak on Tuesday at West Kelowna’s Heritage Retirement Residence, where 10 people — four staff and six residents — tested positive for the virus.
One more resident tested positive for the virus in the outbreak at McKinney Place long-term care home in Oliver. A total of 74 cases — 54 residents and 20 staff — and seven deaths are tied to that outbreak.
Village by the Station long-term care in Penticton remains at four cases; two residents and two staff.
Mountainview Village long-term care in Kelowna has 14 cases: seven residents and seven staff. Interior Health has confirmed one death related to the outbreak, though the home’s operator, the Good Samaritan Society, updated its outbreak page Tuesday announcing a second death.
Sixteen IH cases are tied to a Teck mining operation near Elkford.
READ MORE: Big White COVID-19 cluster grows to 96 cases
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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