Swimming at Kits, Sunset beach not a good idea due to E. coli, says health authority

Unsafe levels of bacteria in the waters off Kitsilano and Sunset beaches haveprompted a warning from Vancouver Coastal Health for swimmers to stay out of the water.

High levels of E. coli bacteria in the water increase risk of gastro-intestinal illness forswimmers.The closures include Kitsilano Point.

The health authority is monitoring the water quality and says it will remove the swimming advisory once levels decrease.

It does not have an estimate of when that might happen.

Fireworks beach party

The warning comes as thousands of people are expected to line the beaches along English Bay to watch the opening night of the 2018 Honda Celebration of Light.

• Celebration of Light set to fire up the nighttime sky over Vancouver

E. coli counts for the Vancouver-area beaches are updated every Friday and listed here.

However, the authority saysthe latest reports which the closures are based on have not yet been posted.