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Kelowna  

Three more recent deaths at two Kelowna outbreaks

3 more deaths at outbreaks

Three more people connected to COVID-19 outbreaks in Kelowna have died.

On Wednesday, Interior Health disclosed two more people at Kelowna's Spring Valley long-term care home have died, bringing the total deaths there to five, while another person has died at Kelowna's Sandalwood Retirement Resort, for a total of two. It's unclear when exactly the deaths occurred.

Total COVID-19 case counts at the two local outbreaks have remained stable – 26 residents and two staff at Sandalwood and 25 residents and 10 staff/other at Spring Valley.

Despite the increasing death toll at the facilities, Interior Health has maintained the majority of the cases at these outbreaks are asymptomatic, as most of the residents and staff have been vaccinated.

Last week, IH's chief medical health officer Dr. Albert de Villiers said some elderly people who've been vaccinated for the virus have died from other causes, while also testing positive for COVID-19.

“We definitely have seen that people who do get COVID after they had had the vaccine get it much, much milder, but unfortunately there will still be people passing away due to other reasons,” Dr. De Villiers said Friday.

Other than the long-term care home outbreak at Orchard Haven in Keremeos, where just one resident and one staff member have tested positive, there are no other active outbreaks in long-term care home, independent living or assisted living seniors homes anywhere else in the province.

In addition to the recent deaths at Kelowna seniors facilities, other COVID-positive Interior residents have recently died as well. In the past week alone, the province has disclosed 10 new Interior COVID-19 deaths, making up seven per cent of the region's 141 COVID deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.



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