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Letter: Data is available to see if COVID-19 is in Revelstoke

There are no new COVID-19 cases and/or hospitalizations in Revelstoke or the Interior as of July 29
Liam Harrap
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Dear editor,

Cathy East raised some important questions in her letter, re: ‘How many COVID-19 cases are in Revelstoke’ and I wanted to share a reply as my sense is others have similar concerns.

READ MORE: Letter: How many COVID-19 cases are in Revelstoke?

Cathy’s note shares concerns based on local rumours of “numerous, active COVID-19 cases in Revelstoke” and raises questions focused on “why our local health authority won’t give us updates on these numbers?”.

Good news on all fronts. The rumours are false and reliable data is available. As of July 29, there are zero new cases and zero hospitalizations due to COVID-19 across the entire Interior Region (801,000 people and 215,000 square km), including Revelstoke.

Could there be undiagnosed cases and/or people recovering at home? Absolutely. But confirmed new cases and/or hospitalizations are not in Revelstoke or the Interior as of July 29.

READ MORE: No new COVID-19 cases for the first time in weeks: Interior Health

How can you be sure? Check B.C.’s COVID-19 Dashboard for yourself. It’s a much better source of information than Facebook. In fact, it’s the same data Dr. Bonnie Henry uses and it’s updated each day. Select the Interior region tab in the top right and you’ll see the latest and greatest data for new cases, COVID-19 hospitalizations, and recoveries in our region.

But what about local data? Interior Health recently added local data on confirmed COVID-19 exposures so the public would know when and where an exposure to the pandemic may have occurred. Like B.C.’s COVID-19 dashboard, it’s updated daily. If you check it as of July 29, you’ll note that Revelstoke is not mentioned, i.e. no COVID-19 exposures confirmed in Revelstoke as of today.

I’ve heard the same rumours Cathy did. It’s nonsense and it’s dangerous. If readers find this data helpful, I hope they will feel free to share it and perhaps we can slow the spread of false information and put our energy back into slowing the spread of the virus. Stay safe Revelstoke.

Here are some resources to see if COVID-19 is in Revelstoke:

1. B.C. Covid-19 Dashboard. Click the Interior tab in the upper right to see our region.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a6f23959a8b14bfa989e3cda29297ded

2. Covid-19 exposure locations and times list

https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/

All the best,

Dylan Hardy,

Revelstoke