Interior Health is seeing a steady rise in COVID-19 cases, including a record one-day high for new cases today with 115, something that B.C.’s top doctor focused on in her briefing.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the increased spread is linked to smaller gathering, which has led to transmission of the virus in communities.

“It’s very challenging because it’s not related to large events, like we were seeing before. It’s related to people thinking it’s okay if it’s just a few of us. And unfortunately it is spreading in all communities now,” Henry says.

“We have seen some very severe outbreaks. A couple of First Nations communities. In Revelstoke, Big White, of course, we know that is ongoing. So now, in the Interior, we are seeing the implications of what could happen in this province, if we had all taken those liberties a few weeks ago.”

Active cases in the Interior have gone up to 948 today, compared to 677 two weeks ago, on Dec. 31, and there have been 16 deaths from the virus in IH in the past 14 days.

There are now 38 people in hospital in the region and 10 in intensive care.