Coronavirus: 56 new cases, 3 deaths for Interior Health, Big White cluster stabilizing

Health officials announced 56 new cases and three deaths for the Interior Health region on Friday, but gave a glimmer of good news, stating that the Big White community cluster seems to be stabilizing.

The new cases pushed the region’s total to 6,569 since the pandemic began, though 5,503 have recovered, according to data from the B.C. Centre of Disease Control.

The three deaths broke a brief, three-day run of no reported fatalities linked to COVID-19. The region’s death toll is now at 78.

Interior Health did not disclose in what communities the three deaths occurred.

There are also 975 active cases throughout Interior Health. Fraser Health (1,759 cases) had the most and was followed by Vancouver Coastal (1,039). Rounding out the five health regions were Northern Health (374) and Vancouver Island (270).

For Interior Health, 53 people are in hospital, with 19 in critical care.

Regarding Big White, Interior Health said that the community cluster seems to be stabilizing after announcing just four new cases since the last report on Feb. 2.

The cluster is now at 235 cases since it was first announced on Dec. 15, with 215 people having recovered. The remaining 20 cases are said to be active and self-isolating.

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Of the 235 cases, IH says 148 have resided or worked at Big White.

“We are happy that cases are stabilizing at Big White, and we will continue to conduct testing on the mountain,” said Dr. Silvina Mema, Interior Health medical health officer.

“This cluster is not yet over, but we are confident the measures in place are working, and we will reduce our reporting to weekly on Fridays.”

Further east, the ski resort town of Fernie saw no new cluster growth, meaning the case total is still at 97 since it was first announced on Jan. 1.

Thirteen cases are said to be active, with 84 people having recovered.

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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. There are 11 active cases.
• Creekside Landing long-term care in Vernon: 40 cases (25 residents, 15 staff) with one death connected to this outbreak. There are six active cases.
• Heritage Square long-term care in Vernon: 68 cases (47 residents, 21 staff) with nine deaths connected to this outbreak. There are seven active cases.
• Noric House long-term care in Vernon: 68 cases (39 residents, 29 staff) with nine deaths connected to this outbreak. There are 13 active cases.

To view the B.C. Centre of Disease Control’s coronavirus statistics, click here.