B.C.’s seventh case of novel coronavirus is in isolation at home in the Fraser Health region, after health authorities spent the weekend following up his contacts since he contracted the virus from a woman diagnosed last week.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday the latest case was in “close contact” with the woman identified as B.C.’s sixth case last week, after she returned home from Iran. Both are stable and recovering at home.
This is a man in his 40s who is also in the Fraser Health region,” Henry told reporters at the B.C. legislature Monday. “He had onset of symptoms prior to the case six diagnosis, so we’ve been working diligently over the weekend with Fraser Health to identify anybody that he came into contact with prior to going into isolation last week.”
The man’s close contacts are also in isolation and being monitored daily, Henry said.
Case five, in the Interior Health region, is also recovering, and earlier patients identified in the Vancouver Coastal Health region are recovered or recovering with testing continuing, Henry said.
Fraser Health warned Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows schools of possible exposure last week, after case six, a woman in her 30s, was diagnosed with COVID-19. But Henry said Monday the situation is under control after work over the weekend.
RELATED: Fraser Health alerts Maple Ridge schools of exposure
RELATED: New cases emerge in South Korea, Singapore, Iran
“I think it’s important to say that there is no reason for anybody in the public to go in for testing, unless you have been contacted by public health,” Henry said.
“We know that there has been quite a lot of concern in communities and in our school system, and we can say that Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health have been working diligently to ensure that anybody who is at risk and has been in contact with either of these two cases has been tested if appropriate, and are in isolation.”
Contacts with #Coronavirius case 7 have been identified and are being monitored, says Dr. Bonnie Henry #bcleg #covid19 pic.twitter.com/Eurx92oauK
— Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc) February 24, 2020
It has been a month since Canada’s first case was identified in Ontario, after the virus was identified in Wuhan, China. It is believed to have been contracted from animals sold at meat and fish markets in Wuhan.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is monitoring the overseas situation, as Canadian passengers on a cruise ship docked off Japan have been returned to isolation at a Canadian Forces base in Ontario for observation. Henry said Canada and B.C. remain “in containment” with identified case, as first Iran and now South Korea are dealing with a growing number of cases.
B.C.’s lab has now been authorized for COVID-19 testing by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, and duplicate tests at that lab are no longer required, the health ministry said in a statement.
@tomfletcherbctfletcher@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on <a href=
“http://twitter.com/BlackPressMedia” target=”_blank”>Twitter.
