Coronavirus: 4 deaths, 54 new cases announced for Interior Health region

Health officials announced four more COVID-19-related deaths and 54 new cases for the Interior Health region on Tuesday.

Three deaths were at long-term care homes: two at Sunnybank in Oliver and one at Noric House in Vernon.

The fourth occurred at an unnamed community/hospital.

Including Tuesday, the number of confirmed deaths because of COVID-19 in the Interior Health region is now at 66.

“Our sympathies go out to the loved ones and the caregivers of the four people we lost today due to COVID-19,” said Susan Brown, president and CEO of Interior Health.

“I know that when we think about our own family and friends, and keeping them safe, that is our motivation to focus on following public health orders. It will take all of us to get through these challenging days across Interior Health and around B.C.”

In other news, another 11 cases were added to the Big White community cluster, pushing the overall total to 225.

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Interior Health says of the 11 new cases, three reside or work at the ski resort east of Kelowna. Of the 225 known COVID-19 cases, 139 have resided or worked at Big White.

There are also 21 active cases. The next update on Big White will be Friday, Jan. 29.

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

• Sunnybank long-term care in Oliver: 37 cases (27 residents, 10 staff) with five deaths connected to this outbreak.
• Creekside Landing long-term care in Vernon: 37 cases (24 residents, 13 staff) with one death connected to this outbreak.
• Noric House long-term care in Vernon: 61 cases (36 residents, 25 staff) with six deaths connected to this outbreak.
• Heritage Square long-term care in Vernon: 68 cases (47 residents, 21 staff) with eight deaths connected to this outbreak.
• Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna: 46 cases (41 residents, 5 staff) with three deaths connected to this outbreak.

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Tuesday’s stats pushed the total number of cases within Interior Health since the pandemic began to 5,927. Of those, 4,865 have recovered.

Forty-nine are in hospital, including 13 in critical care.

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