Kamloops health officer ‘disappointed’ large music festival protest held near city
Posted March 23, 2021 9:30 pm.
KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) — Health officials in Kamloops are concerned that a big party this weekend could lead to more COVID-19 transmissions.
Dr. Carol Fenton tells Radio NL, she’s disappointed hearing about the gathering, which had about 200 people in attendance, complete with a small stage and blaring music.
“I’m always concerned about things that could drive up the numbers in our communities. We saw that around the winter holiday season — there were gatherings that happened, and we saw that transmission drove that peak that we saw in the Thompson Caribou in January, February. We’ve managed to bring the curve down since then, but we’re in a very delicate position,” she says.
Fenton says these kinds of events go in the face of public health orders against large gatherings aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s really disappointing to hear given how hard the rest of the community is working to keep everybody safe. This event is definitely a risk to that. We will be responsible for monitoring symptom patterns, increased tests and investigating as well as following the RCMP and provincial investigation results.”
As the city continues to see COVID-19 cases, Fenton says if everyone just does their part, transmission will decrease and “the sooner we will be able to have those gatherings.”
“And the sooner we do it, the sooner we can have legal parties.”
No arrests were made at the site, but police are still investigating the gathering.
