A Kamloops City Councillor says while the COVID-19 situation in Kamloops looks a lot better than Kelowna, it is not to say the situation can’t worsen here.
Mike O’Reilly says the City is monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the Central Okanagan, where they have 1,690 COVID-19 cases since July 1. It is also why he is asking people to follow the restrictions currently in place.
“You know respect social distancing. Wear a mask. If you feel like wearing one is comfortable, wear one. If not, that’s okay too. And continue to get vaccinated too, first and second doses,” he said. “[Vaccines] are widely available to anyone who wants them, and so now it is not when can I get a vaccine, it is you have to make the time to do it.”
Data from the BC CDC showed an increase in COVID-19 cases in the Kamloops Local Health Area between August 1 to 7, up from 29 the week prior. The Central Okanagan LHA (which includes Kelowna) reported 849 new COVID-19 cases last week, up from 450 cases the week prior.
Active cases in the province are now at 3,834, with 2,199 of those in the Interior.
Speaking on the NL Morning News, O’Reilly said it was great to see a return of events like Hot Nite in the City last Saturday, and Music in the Park this Sunday. He says when he walked through Hot Nite in the City, it was the closest feeling to normalcy he’d had in well over a year.
“It was an outdoor event and it was very spread out over six blocks,” he added. “That’s what we are hearing a lot about, that’s what people are looking for, is to find something that they can go to an event but feel safe at the same time, and Hot Nite in the City hit all those boxes.”
“Certainly, we don’t want people to let their guards down 100 per cent, but just you know, take everything one day at a time. Keep respecting distances from people and hopefully we can continue these outdoor events.”
O’Reilly says while Music in the Park was not scheduled to take place for the second straight summer, City staff were able to put a two-week long festival when COVID restrictions were eased.
“We even had it cancelled for all of this summer until the public health orders started to change and they we adapted our plans and changed to that as well, and we have an abbreviated season this year going for about two weeks,” O’Reilly said.
“It’s a really big feat given how much planning it takes to pull these events off.”
