The resort neighborhood of Whistler has turn into considered one of B.C.’s COVID-19 hotspots.
Well being officers revealed on Friday that the neighborhood had recorded 547 recognized circumstances of the virus between Jan. 1 and Feb. 2 — a determine Well being Minister Adrian Dix described as “too many.”
It’s practically double the 288 circumstances that Vancouver Coastal Well being reported in Whistler between Jan. 1 and Jan. 26.
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Extra folks in Whistler have contracted COVID-19 in January than in all of 2020
Simply 271 circumstances have been confirmed in the neighborhood in all of 2020.
“The vast majority of the circumstances in Whistler proceed to be recognized in younger folks of their 20s and 30s who stay, work and socialize collectively,” Dix stated.
“Nearly the entire current circumstances are related to transmission occurring inside households and social settings, in accordance with our contact tracing.”
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These circumstances translated into simply two hospital stays and no deaths, however Dix stated individuals who contracted the virus in Whistler may have carried it to different communities the place it may have prompted extra injury.
The Whistler numbers come as ski locations in Fernie and Huge White in Kelowna grapple with their very own neighborhood clusters.
Regardless of the excessive case load, Dix stated the province stays reticent to impose industry-wide restrictions on ski operators.
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The desire is for centered enforcement on areas of concern, in cooperation with the area people, he stated.
WorkSafeBC has carried out 61 current inspections in Whistler, he stated, whereas Vancouver Coastal Well being environmental well being officers had carried out “a number of dozen.”
In late January, Whistler/Pemberton RCMP stated they’d issued 15 violation tickets below the COVID Associated Measures and Emergency Program Act.
Workers on the mountain have stated they’re following detailed protocols, together with every day well being screenings, however proceed to see a big quantity of vacationers.
Provincial well being officer Dr. Bonnie Henry stated issues in Whistler don’t preclude Decrease Mainland residents from visiting to ski.
“Keep native. For Whistler, meaning day journeys solely. Proper now is just not the time to go up there and celebration,” she stated.
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B.C. tourism operators warn inter-provincial journey ban may ‘cripple’ sector
“The neighborhood must be shielded from us, and we want, if we’re going as much as Whistler … to not carry the virus again to our neighborhood.”
Henry stated would-be skiers also needs to verify forward to make sure there’s truly sufficient room on the mountains for them.
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