Photo: Google Street View

Anyone who attended the Elkford Drug Store in the small Rocky Mountain town on St. Patrick's Day may have come into contact with the COVID-19 virus.

Interior Health put out a warning that a person who later tested positive for the virus attended the drug store on Elkford's Front Street on March 17.

Due to this, IH has asked anyone who was at the store that day to self-isolate and monitor themselves for symptoms.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, along with a runny nose, fatigue, body aches, diarrhea, headache, sore throat, vomiting and red eyes.

If those who attended the store have not developed symptoms by today, 14 days after March 17, they can return to their daily activities.

Elkford is a small town of just 2,500 people near the Alberta border. Due to “staffing challenges that cannot be addressed at this time,” the emergency department of the Elkford Health Centre will be closed Wednesday, until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Those in the community needing emergency medical attention must now travel to the Sparwood Health Centre, located 30 minutes away and open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., or to the Elk Valley Hospital in Fernie, located 45 minutes away and open 24 hours a day.