UPDATE – The first presumptive case of the coronavirus has been identified in the Interior Health region – the fifth case in B.C. and first outside the Vancouver area.
A woman in her 30’s has self-isolated, but officials have not said exactly where.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the recently returned to the province from Shanghai, and drove to the Interior in a private vehicle. She says she contacted officials after developing symptoms.
“We are very grateful and thankful that the people who are coming back from Hubei province but also from all over China are taking the advice very seriously to self monitor and to connect with us and make sure that they can be tested, assessed, and cared for safely.”
Henry says officials will be contacting passengers who sat near the woman on her flight, but maintains the risk to British Columbians continues to be very low, a point echoed by Health Minister Adrian Dix.
“This is five cases that all five of those cases are people who are isolated at home which indicates that while obviously they are dealing with the circumstances, they’re in a stable condition and they are able to be at home, and self isolated at home, which is an indication of their condition getting excellent care.”
The woman wore a mask on the plane and contacted health officials when she developed symptoms of the illness. Officials did not say when she returned to Canada, now on what flight she was, or where in the Interior the woman is right now.
“The investigations are still ongoing and we don’t want to unnecessarily alarm people. So we are very careful about the information that we give out and we want to make sure that people who potentially are at risk, who are close contact are connected with first before they hear about things potentially in the media.”
Henry did however say officials will contact people who were sitting within three rows of the woman infected, telling them to monitor for any symptoms.
The Interior Health Authority covers the southern and central Cariboo, North and South Thompson, Okanagan, Shuswap, Columbias, Kootenay and Boundary regions.
– With files from Colton Davies
ORIGINAL – The first presumptive case of the coronavirus has been identified in the Interior Health region.
This would be the fifth case in B.C. and first outside of the Vancouver area.
Officials have not said exactly where, but say the case is a woman in her 30s, who has self-isolated. She had been in Shanghai before returning home earlier this month.
The case is considered presumptive-positive until results come back from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg.
The news was announced early this afternoon by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The Interior Health Authority covers the southern and central Cariboo, North and South Thompson, Okanagan, Shuswap, Columbias, Kootenay and Boundary regions.
More to come. Watch this story for updates.
