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| The Map tracking the spread of COVID-19 from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland |
The first which was held earlier in the afternoon marked the ninth case, that even followed later in the day by the second session to add the three newly reported cases.
Towards the latest updates, Adrian Dix, the Minister of Health and Dr. Bonnie Henry the province's health officer outlined the latest notes on the situation in the province.
“We are announcing three new cases of COVID-19 in B.C, for a total of 12 cases in British Columbia. All of these new cases reside in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and have recently returned from travel to Iran.
“Case 10 is a man and in his 60s and case 11 is a woman. They have no connection to previous confirmed cases. Case 12 is a woman in her 30s and a close contact of the eighth case, previously reported on Feb. 29.
“These new cases have been confirmed positive based on BC Centre for Disease Control testing. Four B.C. patients have now fully recovered, and the other individuals with COVID-19 are in isolation at home with support and monitoring from public health teams.
The majority of the cases reported to date are found in the Lower Mainland and it was noted that risk to this point remains low within the province for the spread of the virus.“While the risk of spread of COVID-19 within British Columbia remains low at this time, we continue widespread testing by screening British Columbians and travellers with symptoms, along with their close contacts, to identify cases of COVID-19 early."
They also updated the protocols in place for those travelling to the province from some of the countries that have seen large scale outbreaks of the virus with the focus on China and Iran, which you can review here.
In their noon hour statement, the province outlined some of the preventive measures that British Columbians can take to prevent transmission of the coronavirus and all respiratory illnesses.
“We ask all British Columbians to stay home and away from others if you or your family are sick. We recommend cleaning your hands regularly, avoiding touching your face, coughing or sneezing into your elbow sleeve and disposing of tissues appropriately. To further contain transmission, we also recommend suspending usual greetings such as handshakes, hugs and kisses."
The province also looked to dampen down any unwarranted concerns, noting that there was no requirement to stockpile large volumes of supplies, something which has been a practice for some fearful of a larger outbreak.
The Province also issued some guidelines for employers, schools and those attending large gatherings, as well as British Columbians considering global travel during this period.
You can review those notes here.
The BC Centre for Disease control has also revised their Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore their notes here.
You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:
Federal Government site
British Columbia Government site
The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.
With no cases of COVID-19 recorded in Northern BC to this point, for the most part, Northern Health is defaulting to the provincial information flow.
You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.
For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee
Ottawa Observations
Victoria Viewpoints
For items of interest from Northern Health see our archive page here.
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