Skip to content

Nelson’s Kootenay Lake Hospital reopens to non-essential visitors

Interior Health had previously said the closure was due to COVID-19 cases
29187350_web1_211014-KWS-HospitalDonation_1
Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

Interior Health has reopened Nelson’s Kootenay Lake Hospital to non-essential visitors.

The hospital had closed to all but essential visitors, such as those visiting palliative patients, earlier in the week following COVID-19 exposures.

Interior Health did not say how many cases were active at the hospital, but reopened to all visitors on Wednesday.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) released data Thursday showing 540 people in the province are currently hospitalized with the virus. Of those, 49 are in intensive care units.

It’s not clear how many active COVID-19 cases are in the Nelson local health area, which includes Salmo and parts of the Slocan Valley.

The area had 18 new cases for the week of May 8 to 14, according to the BCCDC, but that data does not include results for rapid tests that aren’t reported.

READ MORE:

Canada’s COVID-19 infections among adults tripled in early 2022 due to Omicron: study

‘It’s really distressing’: Extensive long COVID symptoms linger, 2 years after infection

Wastewater testing for COVID-19 coming to Interior Health