Owen Canale乌鸦传媒檚 unexpected good behaviour at bedtime raised a red flag with his mother Sarah.

The eight-year-old doesn乌鸦传媒檛 usually go to sleep easily at night, but on Aug. 7, Sarah found him passed out in bed earlier than usual.

Then he woke up in the middle of the night with stomach cramps and a severe headache.

乌鸦传媒淗is head hurt so bad he was digging his fingers into his head,乌鸦传媒� says Sarah.

By the morning, Owen had begun vomiting. His family then took him to the emergency room at Nelson乌鸦传媒檚 Kootenay Lake Hospital.

乌鸦传媒淚t was just a very sad situation to see your child so weak. He couldn乌鸦传媒檛 grasp my hand.乌鸦传媒�

Owen tested positive for COVID-19, to be reported between July 1 乌鸦传媒搘hen the provincial government dropped restrictions on masks and gatherings 乌鸦传媒� and Aug. 12.

The Nelson area, which includes Salmo and parts of the Slocan Valley, had been largely unaffected by the pandemic in 2020. At the time there were just 53 confirmed cases, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control. But that changed in April, starting with an . In July cases surged again.

has made Nelson a provincial centre for the pandemic, with higher weekly positive tests than in Lower Mainland communities such as Abbotsford and parts of Vancouver.

The Canales are among the Nelson residents now coping with a virus that乌鸦传媒檚 rapidly spreading throughout the community.

Sarah and her husband Patrick have each had two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but Owen and his six-year-old sister Ali are too young to receive the shots.

Owen is now recovering and Ali has tested negative, but the family is still under quarantine.

乌鸦传媒淚t might not be hospitalizing them, but the repercussions of the social isolation are really taking a toll on the kids,乌鸦传媒� says Sarah.

乌鸦传媒淎ll his friends now are isolating. The more people who can be vaccinated in our community, maybe we can stop this outbreak.乌鸦传媒�

Server cough

Ostara Toews wondered if the smoke was to blame.

For weeks, Nelson乌鸦传媒檚 air had become a brown haze caused by regional wildfires. Toews, a bartender at a downtown restaurant, began coughing on July 23 but initially brushed it off as a symptom of working in an outdoor patio.

She went to work the next day, but felt worse. One day later, Toews woke up too sick to leave her home.

乌鸦传媒淚 just had aches and pains. My throat felt like it was on fire. My head was throbbing. And I felt like I was kind of living in that fever dream,乌鸦传媒� she says.

Toews had been scheduled to receive her second jab that day. Instead, she tested positive for COVID-19 the day after that.

Meanwhile, a server at a nearby restaurant had also begun to cough.

Pauly Frost, 29, also thought the smoke was to blame for the hack he乌鸦传媒檇 developed.

A headache and nausea followed, as well as a pain in the joints of his feet that made walking difficult. 乌鸦传媒淚t would come in waves,乌鸦传媒� says Frost. 乌鸦传媒淚t sucks the energy right out of you while you try to fight it.乌鸦传媒�

Frost, who had just received his second vaccine dose, tested positive one day after Toews. His partner had been double vaccinated for a week but also tested positive for COVID-19 with a milder case.

Stuck at home, Frost said he felt guilt about being off while his coworkers picked up the slack. Tourism is alive and well in Nelson, and there乌鸦传媒檚 little to suggest a pandemic is underway during an evening walk around Baker Street patios.

Frost has since returned to work, but concerns about the health of those tourists, as well as the constant need to remind them about COVID-19 etiquette, has made him wonder if he should leave the industry after over a decade of being a server.

He also still thinks patrons should make their own decisions about wearing masks in public 乌鸦传媒� Frost just hopes those decisions are smart ones.

乌鸦传媒淚f you are feeling safe enough to go outside then you should probably wear the mask,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淎nd if you don乌鸦传媒檛 feel safe enough you should probably stay home.乌鸦传媒�

Toews has also returned to work, but is now using an inhaler for the first time in her life. While she knows Nelson乌鸦传媒檚 businesses need summer tourism revenue, but thinks the provincial restrictions were lifted too soon.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a very 乌鸦传媒榙amned if you do, damned if you don乌鸦传媒檛乌鸦传媒� situation. Businesses need to keep going,乌鸦传媒� says Toews. 乌鸦传媒淲e have a beautiful town that people want to come and visit, but I don乌鸦传媒檛 think that it乌鸦传媒檚 been conducive to helping ease those numbers.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淚 feel like I乌鸦传媒檓 in Hell乌鸦传媒�

The pandemic has not just been limited to Nelson.

Forty minutes west, in Castlegar, the city has had 88 cases since July 4, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Robyn Lenfesty is one of those cases. The 29-year-old was forced to spend eight days on oxygen at Trail乌鸦传媒檚 Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital after catching the virus from her partner, who also tested positive.

In the hospital, Lenfesty watched nurses working double shifts and listened to other patients suffering.

乌鸦传媒淚 was laying there thinking like, I feel like I乌鸦传媒檓 in Hell, I can乌鸦传媒檛 imagine what they乌鸦传媒檙e going through.乌鸦传媒�

Lenfesty wasn乌鸦传媒檛 vaccinated before she became ill. She says now she regrets that, and has signed up to get her first dose now that she乌鸦传媒檚 back home.

乌鸦传媒淗onestly I just feel really grateful that it乌鸦传媒檚 over. I乌鸦传媒檓 going to be more careful from now on and do my best to help, being vaccinated and making sure I乌鸦传媒檓 still wearing masks and socially distancing.

乌鸦传媒淚 hope other people also do the same thing and things can go back to normal one day.乌鸦传媒�

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| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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