Image Credit: City of Revelstoke

By Doyle Potenteau / Global Okanagan

COVID-19

Medical clinic reports first COVID-19 case in Revelstoke

Mar 18, 2020 | 11:28 AM

REVELSTOKE, B.C. — Staff at a medical clinic in Revelstoke say that small city in B.C.’s Interior has a confirmed case of COVID-19.

In a social media post on Tuesday, the Selkirk Medical Group said the local news cycle was abuzz that visiting heli-skiers had tested positive upon returning to their country, and that they may have unwittingly exposed others to the disease during their time in Revelstoke.

“We would like to encourage and support Revelstokians,” the clinic said. “This was inevitable.”

The post went on to say that there is no evidence of community transmission, since this case relates to international travel.

“As a community, we are in this together,” the post said. “We cannot more strongly stress the importance of each person’s role in flattening the curve by reducing contact with each other through social distancing and self isolation.”

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Selkirk Medical Group confirmed the social media post was authentic to Global News on Wednesday morning.

Revelstoke, which has a population of approximately 7,000, is in southeastern B.C., about 460 kilometres from Vancouver, and 100 kilometres east of Salmon Arm.

“Because this is a pandemic, it is reasonable to expect more COVID-19 cases in our town,” said the post. “Cases are increasing across the province.”

Global News has reached out to Interior Health for more information. It’s not known if this is a new case of coronavirus within the region or one of the seven existing cases.

When releasing information on coronavirus cases in B.C., provincial health authorities only release the region where a person lives, and not a specific city.

Earlier this week, Conservative MP Dan Albas, who represents a riding in the Okanagan, called on B.C. health officials to be more transparent about coronavirus cases in the region.