The Sun Peaks Community Health Centre released a statement today about the COVID-19 situation, which comes one week after the first of recent cases were confirmed.
There have been no new reported cases of COVID-19 in Sun Peaks since the weekend, according to Dr. Shane Barclay from the Sun Peaks Community Health Centre.
On Friday, April 9, six cases of COVID-19 were confirmed amongst Sun Peaks staff or residents. After a few days of testing, a total of 25 people in the Sun Peaks area tested positive for the virus. Barclay said public health has now declared the situation as contained.
In the statement, Barclay noted although no new cases have come forward since the weekend, he might not be aware of new cases since there is no longer a COVID-19 testing site in the village.
“Unfortunately, as we have communicated, our testing site here is no longer in operation
which does hamper our ability to keep a handle on the number of tests and any new positives,” Barclay said in the statement. “If you do go for testing in Kamloops, I would ask if you can add my name to the requisition and hopefully, I will then get the result. This doesn’t always happen, however.”
The COVID-19 testing site in Sun Peaks was closed on Monday, with Interior Health Authority (IHA) now using its resources for vaccination clinics.
Barclay stated there has been speculation about receiving the vaccine after testing positive for COVID-19.
“The question of when you should get the vaccine if you have tested positive for COVID
has been asked a lot. The medical literature is a bit all over the place, but it seems IHA is
proposing people wait for 3 months post-infection,” Barclay said in the statement.
Barclay also addressed concerns regarding where positive cases were located. He noted it is beyond his control to release such information, and that individual businesses and Interior Health are responsible for deciding whether or not to announce positive cases.
Anyone showing a symptom of COVID-19, such as a sore throat, headache or cough, is asked to book a test. You can do so by clicking here and selecting a Kamloops location. Those from Sun Peaks are reminded to write S. Barclay on the requisition form so a copy of the test results is sent to the Sun Peaks clinic.
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