Public health orders that have been in place in the Central Okanagan since July have now been expanded to the entire Interior Health region.
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In a press conference held Aug. 20, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said that displacement due to wildfires in B.C.’s Interior has made it necessary to expand public health orders to the entire region.
Those orders include:
- Mandatory masks in all indoor public spaces for people over the age of 12
- Indoor gatherings limited to 6 people
- Outdoor gatherings limited to 50 people
- All high-intensity fitness classes suspended
- Regular indoor fitness classes limited to 10 people
The province also discouraged non-essential travel to the Interior.
Henry said much of the transmission is occurring in unvaccinated people. The increase in COVID-19 cases in Interior Health has strained health resources in communities like Nelson, Vernon, Kamloops, Keremeos and the Thompson-Shuswap area.
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Cases are levelling off in the Central Okanagan at 100 to 150 cases per day, but other areas of Interior Health like East Kootenay, Kootenay-Boundary, North and South Okanagan and Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap.
More to come…