New presumptive case of COVID-19 in B.C.
Posted February 14, 2020 12:42 pm.
Last Updated February 14, 2020 1:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – An Interior woman in her 30s is said to be the latest person infected with COVID-19 in B.C.
She recently flew home from Shanghai, not Hubei province – where the virus originated – or a restricted area, to YVR.
She has symptoms and had a small number of close contacts, according to B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The woman drove to the Interior and is self-isolating, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial public health officer.
Henry added the woman called health officials after feeling symptoms and was tested on Tuesday. The results came back Thursday.
Henry won’t say which day the new patient came back to Canada or which airline she was on.
“We are very careful about the information that we give out.”
Henry stressed that the woman was wearing a mask on the flight, reducing the risk of spreading infection.
Health officials are working to get a copy of the list of passengers on the plane and where they sat and will contact people who were siting within three rows of the woman infected.
The latest presumptive case brings the total to five those infected with COVID-19 in B.C.
This one is a first for the Interior — all others have been in Metro Vancouver, Henry added.
As for B.C.’s first case, that man has had one negative test, Henry said.
He’ll need two in 24 hours to be considered “completely recovered.”
He encouraged others to come forward for testing if they believe they may have been infected.
Anyone with such concerns is asked to call 811.
