Coronavirus: Officials announce 2 more deaths, 95 new cases for Interior Health region

Two more deaths and 95 new coronavirus cases were announced for the Interior Health region on Thursday.

According to Interior Health, one death occurred at a long-term care home in Vernon, Noric House, with the other occurring within the region.

Health officials did not disclose in what community or subregion within Interior Health the second death occurred.

The region’s death toll from COVID-19 since the pandemic began is now at 57.

“Today, Interior Health is sadly reporting two additional deaths and a total of 57 individuals who have now been lost to COVID-19 in our region,” said Susan Brown, Interior Health president and CEO.

“On behalf of everyone at Interior Health, we send our condolences to the loved ones and caregivers.

“I know people are fatigued by the impact COVID-19 on our day-to-day lives. However, the ongoing challenges of this pandemic shows us we need to continue to be vigilant and compassionate. We all need to do our part to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in our communities.”

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Interior Health says five deaths have now occurred at Noric House, including two on Wednesday.

With the 95 new cases, the region’s total number of cases since the pandemic began rose to 5,560, though 4,398 have recovered.

Thirty-two are said to be in hospital, with seven in critical care.

There are also 1,098 active cases, second-most among the province’s five health care regions:

• Fraser Health: 1,769 active cases
• Interior Health: 1,098 active cases
• Vancouver Coastal: 863 active cases
• Northern Health: 508 active cases
• Vancouver Island: 212 active cases

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Below are the updated outbreak numbers for long-term care homes in the Okanagan:

• Sunnybank long-term care in Oliver: 35 cases (26 residents, 9 staff) with two deaths connected to this outbreak.
• Creekside Landing long-term care in Vernon: 35 cases (20 residents, 15 staff) with one death connected to this outbreak.
• Heritage Square long-term care in Vernon: 67 cases (47 residents, 20 staff) with seven deaths connected to this outbreak.
• Noric House long-term care in Vernon: 55 cases (34 residents, 21 staff) with five deaths connected to this outbreak.
• Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna: 46 cases (41 residents, 5 staff) with three deaths connected to this outbreak.

To view the B.C. CDC’s daily online dashboard regarding COVID-19 data, click here.