B.C. Premier John Horgan said unnecessary recreation travel is a factor in the COVID-19 cluster in Revelstoke. Interior Health announced a total of 46 Revelstoke COVID-19 cases on Dec. 1.
The remarks came at a Dec. 2 press conference. Horgan was responding to a question about whether small communities should be notified of outbreaks at the outset.
“We have been warning communities since March that COVID-19 is in British Columbia. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. There is no safe place,” Horgan said.
“We need British Columbians to understand that the Revelstoke examples are people traveling unnecessarily for recreation,” Horgan continued. “That’s not acceptable. It was a bad choice and we’re living with those consequences. People need to be mindful of the choices that they make and the consequences they have not just on themselves and their families, but other people as well. I think that message has been pretty clear.”
In B.C., health officials don’t disclose daily case count data for “local health areas” (LHA), unlike other provinces where it is the practice to report daily information at the community or neighbourhood level. In Revelstoke, there were zero resident cases in October, but that number ballooned to 22 before it was officially noted by the B.C. health minister in a Nov. 25 TV town hall.
LHA numbers are only disclosed once a month by the month in B.C., and when that report comes has varied, coming a week to almost two weeks after the end of the month.
Revelstoke and the immediately area is its own independent LHA. Find a profile on the Revelstoke LHA here.
In its December 1 statement on the COVID-19 pandemic, Interior Health also emphasized the importance of limiting non-essential travel. “Interior Health would also remind people that we need them to limit all non-essential travel right now. This means, sticking to your own communities, skiing at your own ski hill and not getting together in groups after skiing, only going to restaurants with your family bubble, etc.,” it stated.
In its first statement on the COVID-19 cluster in Revelstoke on November 26, Interior Health (IH) cited both travel and local social gatherings as concerns: “Social gatherings appear to be responsible for some of these transmissions. This highlights the importance, especially at this time, of limiting your social activities and following COVID-19 protocols when indoors. This includes maintaining physical distancing and masking when unable to stay apart,” IH stated.
More frequent LHA updates may be in the works
In response to questions from the Mountaineer, an Interior Health spokesperson said that discussion with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control “about posting some additional LHA data more regularly” are ongoing, and that they would update us if there is a change.
Updates to come on Friday, not Thursday
In other updates, on Dec. 1, IH said the Revelstoke COVID-19 cluster updates would come on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but has now changed the days to Tuesdays and Fridays.
Contract tracing ‘keeping up’ says IH
In response to a Mountaineer question about whether contact tracing efforts were holding up in Revelstoke, IH said they are.
“Contact tracing is going well in Revelstoke and public health is keeping up with the volume,” an IH spokesperson said.
COVID-19 ‘cluster’ is the same number as all Revelstoke LHA cases
In response to revelstokemountaineer.com reader questions about the nature of the Revelstoke COVID-19 cluster, we asked IH for clarification on what the number of cases represents.
An IH spokesperson said the number, reported at 46 on Dec. 1, represents the COVID-19 cluster and all cases in the Revelstoke LHA.
Some readers expressed concern that the cluster did not include some other COVID-19 cases, such as a person who contracted it elsewhere then returned home here.
Provincial COVID-19 cases are tracked by the residential postal code the patient is using. This means there could be cases in Revelstoke where someone is residing here seasonally, but is using a postal code from elsewhere, meaning the cases are tracked to that location. The number can also include someone who works out of town, such as at a work camp, but lists their residence as Revelstoke.
In early November, BC Hydro announced two test positive COVID-19 case at Mica Dam, one in October and one in November. Mica Dam is within the Revelstoke LHA, but there were no official cases reported in the Revelstoke LHA in October because the worker who tested positive in October had a residence outside of the Revelstoke LHA. On Nov. 23, a BC Hydro spokesperson said there are no longer COVID-19 cases at the Mica Dam, and that there are no cases at the Revelstoke Dam facility either as of that date.
B.C. COVID-19 numbers update for Dec. 2
New cases by region:
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