Interior Health is reporting five more COVID-19 deaths at long-term care homes in the South Okanagan over the past five days.

Four residents of McKinney Place long-term care home in Oliver have died, and one resident of Village by the Station care home in Penticton has also succumbed to the virus, Interior Health stated in a press release Tuesday (Dec. 29) afternoon.

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The total case count at McKinney Place remains at 75 cases 鈥� 54 of whom are residents and 21 are staff members. In total, there have been 12 deaths connected to this outbreak, declared Dec. 6.

Village by the Station in Penticton has nine cases as of Tuesday 鈥� five residents and four staff. The death reported on the 29th is the first related to the outbreak since Dec. 5.

鈥淲e are deeply saddened today to report the deaths of 10 more people; bringing the loss of life from COVID-19 since the pandemic began to 28 in the Interior Health region,鈥� said president and CEO of Interior Health Susan Brown.

鈥淥ur sincere condolences go to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives to COVID-19, and as well, to the caregivers who looked after them.

鈥淎s outbreaks continue to occur in long-term care facilities, it demonstrates again how deadly this virus can be, in particular for our elders. I encourage everyone to take the necessary precautions to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. This is why it is so essential that each of us continue to stringently follow the public health guidance we know stops the spread of COVID-19.鈥�

There have been 28 COVID-19 deaths in the Interior Health region since the start of the pandemic.

Across the province, B.C. reported a total of 2,206 new virus cases and 74 deaths recorded from Dec. 25 to 29.

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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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