VANCOUVER -- Health officials have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at a community hospital in the B.C. Interior, where four staff members have tested positive so far.
Interior Health announced the outbreak at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake on Wednesday, stressing there's "no evidence of patient exposure" at this point.
"Interior Health would like to assure the community that it is safe to come to the hospital when medical care is needed," the health authority said in a news release. "A team including infection control practitioners, microbiologists, medical health officers and communicable disease specialists are overseeing the site to ensure all safety protocols are in place."
All of the staff members who have caught COVID-19 are self-isolating, as are their direct contacts, officials said.
Interior Health also asked the public "not to stigmatize or judge others who seek testing or test positive" for the coronavirus.
There are currently 4,810 active cases of COVID-19 across B.C., with another 7,260 people under active public health monitoring after being exposed to a known case.
Health officials announced 519 new infections on Wednesday, and 749 recoveries.
