British Columbia has announced seven new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total in the province to 46.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there were two health-care workers diagnosed in connection with the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver.
One is a man in his 20s who lives in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, the other is a woman in her 50s who lives in the Fraser Health region. Both are in isolation at home.
Henry said three of the cases are linked to Egypt, including B.C.’s first reported case in the Vancouver Island Health Authority.
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Henry said health officials had also identified two new cases of community transmission through B.C.’s influenza surveillance testing.
Both are in the Fraser Health Region. One is a woman in her 60s who has been hospitalized, and the other is a man in his 60s who is in isolation at home.
“A detailed public health investigation is being done on both those cases, as well as the two we identified yesterday, to try and determine the origin of their infection,” said Henry.
Henry said three other people who had been hospitalized have now been discharged: a woman in her 60s who had been aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, a man in his 90s, and a health-care worker who was exposed at the Lynn Valley Care Centre.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak a pandemic.
Washington state, which is dealing with a large outbreak and multiple cases of community transmission, also banned all public gatherings of more than 250 people on Wednesday.
B.C. has confirmed 46 cases of COVID-19 to date with one fatality.
Ten of the cases are clustered around the Lynn Valley Care Centre.
Investigators are still working to determine how the virus got into the facility, which also accounted for B.C.’s first known case of community transmission.
Three such community cases have been identified. The other two involved residents of the Fraser Health region.
Most of the other cases are linked to travel from China and Iran.
Several large public events have been cancelled or postponed in an attempt to slow the transmission of the virus, however health officials have not called for widespread cancellations.
Concerned about COVID-19? Here are some things to know:
Health officials say the risk is very low for Canadians, but they caution against travel to affected areas (a list can be found here). If you do travel to these places, they recommend you self-monitor to see whether you develop symptoms and if you do, to contact public health authorities.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing – very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. And if you get sick, stay at home.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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