The new weekly positive COVID-19 test data by B.C. Local Health Area (LHA) shows Revelstoke is among the top five LHAs in the province for new test-positive COVID-19 cases per capita.
In new weekly data released on Dec. 30, the BC Centre for Disease Control notes 22 new COVID-19 test positive cases between Dec. 20 and 26. That brings the average daily rate per 100,000 population to over 20 in Revelstoke, which joins only four other LHAs — Abbotsford, Burns Lake, Surrey, and Terrace — which also have daily test positive rates above 20 daily cases per 100,000 population.
Sources: 35 active cases in Revelstoke LHA, nine new positive tests in the past two days
Revelstokemountaineer.com has learned there are 35 active COVID-19 cases in the Revelstoke LHA, including nine new test-positive cases in the past two days. The nine new cases wouldn’t be included in the new weekly total, which were calculated for a period ending on Dec. 26.
On Dec. 11, Interior Health (IH) declared the Revelstoke COVID-19 cluster that was first reported on Nov. 22 “contained.” Since then IH has not provided COVID-19 active case numbers or daily case numbers for the LHA. On Dec. 11, there were 12 active cases. That number has now nearly tripled.
Revelstokemountaineer.com has located sources for updated information and has high confidence in the number of active cases and new test-positive cases in the past two days, although they are not provided by official sources.
Significant out-of-province, out-of-town tourist traffic in Revelstoke
Revelstoke, an international winter recreation destination, isn’t as busy as normal years, but any resident here can observe parking lots of hotels and recreation areas with many vehicles with out-of-province plates parked outside. The sled decks with snowmobiles on top or vehicles with ski boxes on the roof are giveaways as to what brought the visitors here; travelers from within B.C. are more difficult to distinguish from residential traffic because they both have B.C. license plates.
Why did IH wait eight days before issuing a notice about possible exposures at a Revelstoke restaurant?
On Dec. 24, Interior Health issued a notice about potential exposure risk at Zala’s Restaurant, a Revelstoke establishment on Victoria Road. However, on Dec. 16 Zala’s posted a notice on their Facebook page saying they were closing due to a potential exposure and noted that they’d been in contact with Interior Health. On the same day, a local newspaper, Revelstoke Review, published a story about the restaurant closure.
So, why did it take IH eight days to issue a notice about the potential exposure at the restaurant? Why did IH issue a notice about that potential exposure but not ones for the many other restaurants that have voluntarily posted social media notices about closures due to potential COVID-19 exposures?
We put the questions to Interior Health. Here are the questions and its responses:
Revelstoke Mountaineer: Why wasn’t this notice released earlier?
Interior Health: The broad notification was released once public health had determined a potential exposure of concern had occurred. Any previously investigated potential exposures, or anything communicated on social media, did not find significant potential exposure to warrant broad notification.
RM: Is there a reason you’re releasing this now as opposed to earlier?
IH: As above.
RM: Several Revelstoke restaurants have reported similar possible exposures. Why has IH notified about this one, as opposed to the others?
IH: Following a thorough investigation of facts, this particular potential exposure is of sufficient concern to warrant a public notification.
New Year’s Eve 8 p.m. alcohol sales cutoff
The B.C. government has announced liquor sales at restaurants, bars, and shops are to be cut off at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Restaurants can still sell food after that time.
Interior Health update
On Dec. 30, IH is reporting 57 new cases overnight, for a total of 3,806, with 636 cases are active and on isolation. Thirty-six people are in hospital; six of them in ICU. The total number of deaths in IH remains at 28.
B.C. COVID-19 update
On Dec. 30, provincial authorities reported 485 new cases, for a total of 51,300. There are 7,551 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 379 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 77 of whom are in intensive care. Currently, 9,320 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and a further 41,681 people who tested positive have recovered. There have been 11 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 893 deaths in B.C.
Current outbreaks in Interior Health
There are several outbreaks ongoing in Interior Health, but none listed for Revelstoke or any facilities here. Here is a list of ongoing outbreaks in Interior Health:
- Noric House long-term care in Vernon remains at six cases: five residents and one staff.
- Heritage Square long-term care in Vernon has 19 cases: 12 residents and seven staff.
- Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna remains at 30 cases: 25 residents and five staff, with one death connected to this outbreak.
- Teck mining operations remains at 16 IH cases linked to the outbreak.
- McKinney Place long-term care in Oliver remains at 75 cases: 54 residents and 21 staff, with 12 deaths connected to this outbreak.
- Village by the Station long-term care in Penticton remains at nine cases: five residents and four staff with one death connected to this outbreak.
- Mountainview Village long-term care in Kelowna remains at 16 cases: eight residents and eight staff, with two deaths connected to this outbreak.
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