Penticton recorded 50 new cases of COVID-19 in a six day period, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.
The city has seen a dramatic increase when compared to the total amount of cases recorded since the start of the pandemic.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) began releasing COVID-19 case counts by local health area this week, giving British Columbians a more precise look at which communities have been hit hardest. Previously, data was released only by regional health authority.
READ MORE: Upward trend in Central Okanagan COVID-19 cases: BC CDC data
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The numbers show that Penticton recorded 50 new cases from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. From January through to Nov. 29, there were only 66 total cases recorded in Penticton.
The case count between Nov. 30 and Dec. 5 represents a 76 per cent increase of total cases recorded in Penticton.
| The BC CDC will now be releasing the number of COVID-19 cases recored in local areas weekly. This map shows cases recorded in areas across the province from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. (BC CDC) |
Meanwhile, Keremeos recorded only one case from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.
In the same week, there were 9 cases recorded in the the South Okanagan area encompassing Oliver and Osoyoos.
The South Okanagan area is likely to see a large spike in cases when local data is released next week. As of yesterday (Dec. 10) there has been 40 cases recorded at McKinney Place long-term care home in Oliver.
READ MORE: Cases at McKinney Place jump to 40 in five days
The BC CDC will be releasing data every Wednesday for the previous week. The next update is expected Wednesday, Dec. 16 for the period of Dec. 6 to Dec. 13.
Numbers can be found on the BC Centre for Disease Control website under BC COVID-19 data. Also available are new graphs from the BCCDC Comparisons App showing how each health authority is doing in terms of positive test rates by month.
The numbers represent cases reported by Interior Health to the BC Centre for Disease Control. In instances where there is conflict between BC CDC numbers and Interior Health numbers, the BC CDC numbers should be taken as the accurate representation, said Interior Health in an email.
The BC CDC points out that the number of cases in each local area may not represent where people were exposed to the virus due to travel considerations. Also, not all people infected are tested and reported and cases have shown to be asymptomatic in some people, meaning there are likely cases that are not recorded.
READ MORE: Interior Health reports 82 new cases of COVID-19
READ MORE: More COVID cases at Maggie high school cancels afternoon classes
jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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