The BC Centre for Disease Control has reported the first three cases of COVID-19 in the Clearwater area since the pandemic began.

According to its weekly case map, the BC CDC says there were three cases reported between Dec. 20-26 in the North Thompson local health area.

The North Thompson LHA has a population of 4,402 people according to Interior Health, and it encompasses Clearwater and nearby communities that use Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital as their primary hospital.

Before today’s updated data came in, Clearwater mayor Merlin Blackwell said he strongly suspects there have been active cases in the community but says there’s no official way to confirm it.

In the same week, Dec. 20-26, there were 27 cases reported in the Kamloops local health area, which also includes Barriere, Sun Peaks, Chase and Logan Lake. That’s down from 35 cases reported in the Kamloops LHA a week earlier, which has a population of 117,000 people.

Within Interior Health, the local health area with the highest case load per capita last week was Revelstoke, which had 22 cases, totalling more than 20 cases per 100,000 people.

The Central Okanagan had the most cases last week within IH; that local health area includes Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland and Lake Country.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said this week she’s concerned that cases could rise in the days ahead, saying many people avoided getting tested at Christmas as a way to avoid potentially having to quarantine during the holidays.