Staff and council members in Sun Peaks are asking people not to visit the ski town if they don’t have to while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing.

In an open letter addressed to property managers and recreational homeowners, the municipality says people should only go to Sun Peaks if they have a permanent home there.

The letter also says medical staff in Sun Peaks have identified “some 20-plus presumptive cases” of COVID-19, noting that all of those people are recovering in isolation.

The message from the village comes just days after Provincial Health Officer – Dr. Bonnie Henry – advised people not to travel anywhere that is non-essential, especially to rural, remote places of the province.

Last month, Sun Peaks said its first confirmed case of COVID-19 was Dr. Chip Bantock, a doctor at the Sun Peaks Medical Clinic.