British Columbia health officials are expanding COVID-19 restrictions across the Interior Health region as the case count leaps in the area.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says restrictions currently in place in the central Okanagan, such as mandatory mask-wearing and reduced limits on indoor and outdoor events, will be expanded across the region in an effort to limit the rise in COVID-19 cases.
The province has seen a leap in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with many occurring in the Interior Health region, which Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix attributed to lower vaccination rates.
Henry says the displacement of many residents because of the wildfires has made containing COVID-19 especially challenging.
She says the larger caseload is placing too much pressure on local health services, prompting them to widen the safety measures to the entire region.
Graham Cox
