WHILE VANCOUVER Coastal Health (VCH) announced on March 19 that some recent visitors to Whistler have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it remains to be seen exactly how many confirmed cases there are in the community.
"We know that there's a few lab-confirmed cases, but we're still waiting for that data to be collated. I think what you can be sure of is that there are cases through most communities, in the Lower Mainland and up the coast, with many lab confirmed, but a lot more likely clinical cases," said Dr. Meena Dawar, medical health officer with VCH.
"So the virus is in the community, and I think it's important for people to know that we just need to protect ourselves, we need to do all the right things which have been talked about—hand washing, hand washing, hand washing, staying home if sick, of course ... and social distancing."
In a release on March 19, VCH warned of potential exposure at three Whistler locations: The Rendezvous on Blackcomb (March 9 between 1 and 2 p.m. and March 10 between noon and 2 p.m.); the Dubh Linn Gate Pub on March 10 between 12 and 3 p.m.; and Escape Whistler on March 13 between 1:30 and 4 p.m.
Both the Dubh Linn Gate and Escape Whistler have experienced negative social media backlash since the announcement, Dawar said.
"I think it's important for people to know that we identified those two businesses not because of their business practices but because of the potential type of exposure that happened there," she said.
"It's a group of friends, they were in Whistler for a number of days in a number of places. We assessed them all, and it was the fact that there were a lot of people around in these two businesses when they were there that we wanted to be sure that the general public knew."
While it's important to listen to the advice of health officials, "that doesn't mean that we completely self-isolate at home," Dawar said.
"All of us who are healthy, I think we're in this for several weeks, so it's important to be checking in on our neighbours, being physically active, getting out, getting some fresh air—just not in large groups."
Several of Whistler's younger population may not be heeding that last point of advice, as evidenced by large outdoor parties taking place throughout the resort in the past week.
Asked about the gatherings, Dawar said she had heard about them.
"I think it's important that people abide by the provincial guidance, which is gatherings over 50 should be cancelled, and certainly within those gatherings as well that we practice a lot of social distancing. It's important," she said.
"The virus is here, it is going to spread, but what we're really trying to do is decrease the slow of spread in order to protect the vulnerable individuals."
To that end, VCH's COVID-19 testing strategy is now focused on those with severe illness, healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities, Dawar said.
Living accommodations for many in Whistler involve more than one person to a room—are officials concerned about rapid spread of infection in tight living quarters?
"I think Whistler generally tends to have a healthy population, so I'm not overly concerned. I think the concern, again, is greater for seniors," Dawar said.
"The bottom line is it's not the cramped quarters that I'm concerned about, it's more focused on who's vulnerable and making sure we protect them from being introduced to the virus."
Meanwhile, the Whistler Health Care Centre is "connecting very closely" with other healthcare centres in the region, Dawar said.
"They're following the protocols that are evolving about providing urgent and emergent care, and appropriate infection control practices etc.," she said.
"So I'm quite sure that things are working very well in Whistler in coordination with other urgent care and emergency departments in [VCH]."
Dawar said she fully expects individuals with COVID-19-compatible illnesses to be presenting at the Whistler Health Care Centre at some point, but pointed out anyone needing intensive care would be relocated.
"[The Whistler Health Care Centre] does not run an intensive care unit, so if people needed further levels of care they would be moved appropriately, and those plans are in place," Dawar said.
The March 19 release is the first public advisory of its sort that VCH has issued for Whistler, and it may well be the last, Dawar said.
"I think the idea is really to just alert the public that the virus is there, and to just take precautions, but we certainly will not be making an advisory every single time,"she said.
"We're in the curve, it's taking off—just practice the usual precautions. Stay alert, and in the next month or two hopefully we can be reassured that we're on the down curve and everything's winding down as it should."
Find more info here: www.vch.ca/about-us/news/vancouver-coastal-health-statement-on-coronavirus.
Find the latest from the RMOW at whistler.ca/covid19.
Check piquenewsmagazine.com for updates as this story continues to develop.
