8 positive tests: Four sites in Kelowna, B.C., now linked to COVID-19 exposures

Health officials are monitoring several cases of COVID-19 exposure in Kelowna, B.C., and say they've identified two more locations where people may have contracted the respiratory illness.

Interior Health says in a statement issued Sunday that a restaurant and spin studio have been added to the resort and a bed and breakfast identified on Friday in an advisory about the Okanagan outbreak.

An email from the health authority says eight positive tests for the virus are linked to visits to downtown Kelowna and the city's waterfront between June 25 and July 9.

Visitors to the Boyce Gyro Beach Lodge on July 1 or the Discovery Bay Resort from July 1 to July 5 were advised Friday to self-isolate and monitor themselves closely for symptoms.

The health authority is now urging visitors to Kelowna's Cactus Club restaurant on Water Street between July 3 and July 6, or the Pace Spin Studio on July 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 to self-monitor and get tested if COVID-19 symptoms appear.

Public health contact tracing is underway and the health authority says it is reaching out directly to anyone who has been exposed, where possible.

Testing is recommended for anyone with novel coronavirus symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or a loss of taste or smell, says the statement from Interior Health.

"Milder symptoms may include runny nose, fatigue, body aches ... diarrhea, headache, sore throat, vomiting and red eyes," says the statement.

Anyone with even mild symptoms is urged to stay home and avoid travel.

Efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 include physical distancing, washing hands regularly, not touching the face and avoiding gatherings of more than 50 people, the health authority says.