COVID-19 outbreak at Kelowna church now over | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Mostly Cloudy  4.2°C

Kelowna News

COVID-19 outbreak at Kelowna church now over

The COVID-19 outbreak at a Kelowna church service is now over, Interior Health reported today.

The Calvary Chapel COVID-19 outbreak was declared Sept. 25 and resulted in seven cases of the disease.

Those cases are included in the 585 total cases of COVID-19 in Interior Health since the start of the pandemic. Twenty nine cases are active and on isolation and two people are in hospital, one is in ICU.

In the aftermath of the outbreak, the church suspended its public gatherings and went back to holding its Sunday services online. The outbreak occurred despite precautions, including having congregants pre-register to attend services to ensure groups were less than 50.

Anytime there's a group gathering, there's a higher risk of spread B.C.'s provincial health officer has warned.

Yesterday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said, there’s been an increase in community exposures connected to recreational sports like hockey and soccer as leagues slowly started to resume.

The result has been that some sports facilities have needed to close, or to shut down for periods of time.

Sports leagues and recreational organizations did have to present a COVID-19 safety plan to get going again, and those are guided by public health principles but they’re not entirely risk-free, particularly once groups of spectators are factored in.

“Like the recent NHL playoffs, the plans have prioritized the players over the spectators and I know that's a challenge for some people who want to be there to support their children in particular who are playing on on teams,” she said. “But we also know that spending time socializing or cheering with other parents and fans before, during and following games increases risk of transmission, and exposure for families.”

Today, Oct. 14, there have been 158 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 10,892, according to a joint statement.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2020
iNFOnews

  • Popular kamloops News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile