Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC

By Aaron Schulze

COVID-19 in Interior Health

ONE-ON-ONE: Health Minister Dix hints at proof of vaccination, says high positivity prompted new restrictions in Interior

Aug 21, 2021 | 4:13 PM

KAMLOOPS — One day after the B.C. government implemented tighter health restrictions for Interior Health, in response to a surge of COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Adrian Dix spoke one-on-one with CFJC Today.

While daily COVID-19 cases are on the rise in each of B.C.’s health regions, Dix says Interior Health is being targeted with restrictions such as a mandatory mask mandate and gathering limits due to a high test positivity rate.

As of Aug. 17, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control says Interior Health’s positivity rate is between 10 and 20 per cent, while Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health sit between five and 10.

As of Aug. 17, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control says Interior Health is between 10 and 20 per cent, while Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health sit between five and 10 (BCCDC).

“This is not in any way anything else than providing protection for people in Interior Health; people in long-term care and with chronic diseases,” Dix says. “It is a change in strategy that accompanied the fact that we have 83 per cent of people in B.C. immunized. Before immunization, the measures were the key way that we dealt with the spread of COVID-19 everywhere in B.C. There was a time when it was 10.8 per cent in Fraser Health, but it was also seven per cent plus in the height of the third wave in Interior Health, and we didn’t have immunization. If [tightened restrictions are] necessary in other health regions, they’ll be brought in.”

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Dix noted there were additional restrictions for Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health in November, 2020.

While not specifically saying how many daily cases, or how high a test positivity percentage it would take for other regions to potentially face similar restrictions as Interior Health, Dix pointed to the Central Okanagan accounting for nearly half of B.C.’s COVID-19 cases when it saw restrictions in late July.

“Well over 50 per cent of our active cases right now are in Interior Health, which represents about 18 per cent of B.C.’s population,” Dix says. “We’re supporting people in Interior Health, to help [prevent] people from getting sick, and ending up in hospital and ICU. What we all can do is focus in and increase the number of vaccinated people. The higher level of vaccination takes away the risk for the whole community. It protects you and will allow you to do things that, if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not going to be able to do.”

Weekly COVID-19 cases by Local Health Area the week a COVID-19 outbreak was declared in the Central Okanagan (BCCDC).

Dix added food and liquor restrictions in effect for the Central Okanagan don’t apply to the rest of Interior Health.

Proof of vaccination going forward?

As of Aug. 19, approximately 71 per cent of Kamloops residents aged 12 and up have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. They’re also affected by Friday’s health restrictions.

Dix says it’s frustrating for those who are already fully vaccinated to be impacted the same way as someone who’s not vaccinated, but the blanket restrictions for all of Interior Health are needed due to the significant transmission of COVID-19.

However, he noted that B.C. is considering following the proof-of-COVID-19-vaccination document that’s set to be implemented in Quebec starting Sept. 1. The initiative targets non-essential services like festivals, restaurants, bars and gyms.

“I think those people who are fully vaccinated in the region are going to see that, in the coming period, we’re going to target restrictions where transmission is,” Dix says. “Right now, that includes some of the areas of Interior Health, unfortunately. But it will, in the future, also be targeted at people who are not vaccinated. We need to get people vaccinated, and if they’re not going to be vaccinated, we need to protect the broader community from the impact of COVID-19.

“The impact of unvaccinated people and a lot of transmission is still a threat to long-term care and other places where our most vulnerable people are,” he added. “When COVID is circulating like this in the community, the vaccines aren’t 100 per cent effective, and more people are at risk. We need to take all of the measures so we can get back to as much normal as possible.”