A recent positive coronavirus test is highlighting the challenges of holding an election during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The campaign manager for Kelowna-Mission BC Liberal candidate Renee Merrifield confirmed she was at a meeting last week with someone who has since tested positive for COVID-19.
However, the campaign said Merrifield was not exposed and was told by the health authority there was no need for her to quarantine.
“I have not been exposed as I was further than six feet away, outdoors and following all protocol. This is a great example of how the protocols are supposed to work,” the candidate wrote in an email to Global News.
Merrifield campaign manager Rob Murphy said, in a statement to Global News, that she has not shown any COVID-19 symptoms.
No one else who was at the meeting has tested positive or shown symptoms either, Murphy said.
The Merrifield campaign said the meeting in question followed public health protocols, was outdoors, involved less than 20 people and that attendees were physically distanced from each other.
Murphy said everyone who was at the meeting has been notified about the positive test.
“We took extraordinary precautions when we learned that someone tested positive,” said Merrifield.
“When I called Interior Health to see what I should do, they confirmed that I was not exposed and that I had no need to quarantine. I have not been exposed as I was further than six feet away, outdoors, and following all protocol.
“This is a great example of how the protocols are supposed to work.”
Merrifield took part in a live-streamed all-candidates forum hosted by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, where she shared a stage with the Green Party candidate.
That forum had physical distancing protocols in place.