Rise in Interior Health Covid cases no cause for alarm

British Columbia has 18 new cases of Covid-19 since Thursday, raising the number of cases identified in the province to 2,507.

Eleven of the new cases are in the Interior Health region, bringing the total to 194, but health officials say it’s not a cause of concern.

“The discrepancy between new cases and total cases with the Interior Health and Island Health regions reported today are a data consolidation to reflect COVID-19 cases based on where individuals reside, even if they were not in the health authority during their illness,” said a statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“Nine of the cases in Interior Health and one case in Island Health are individuals associated with the Kearl Lake oilsands construction project outbreak, who completed their self-isolation in Alberta and have since recovered.”