B.C. has appointed a deputy minister’s committee and will open four new testing labs as part of its efforts to address the spread of COVID-19 in B.C.
The measures, part of the province’s government-wide plan of action, were announced this afternoon (March 6) by B.C. Premier John Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
The government-wide response includes preparation for an outbreak lasting up to four months.
Currently, B.C. remains in the containment phase, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The premier also announced a deputy minister’s committee, which will guide the government’s approach to a possible pandemic and B.C.’s preparedness.
By the end of next week, B.C. will have four additional labs to carry out coronavirus testing, said Horgan.
Dix said there are four major priorities for B.C. to contain the spread of COVID-19, including protecting the general population, protecting vulnerable citizens and health care workers, and supporting B.C.’s health-care capacity.
.@jjhorgan also says B.C. has run 2,803 #COVIDー19 tests since January. Yesterday, 8 more cases were announced, which brings the total to 21 in #bc. One of those patients is in ICU and was announced as "critical condition" a couple days ago #canada #healthbc #illness #virus
— jess fedigan (@jj_fedigan) March 6, 2020
Yesterday, there were eight new cases of coronavirus announced in B.C. Henry broke the news Wednesday afternoon, which brings the total number of confirmed cases of the virus to 21 in the province.
One of the new cases is concerning Henry and her medical team more than others, as it comes from a “community transmission,” meaning it wasn’t due to travel and they can’t find the source.
“This was picked up while (she) was being tested for the flu,” she said. “There is a detailed investigation. This person hadn’t recently travelled so that is something we’re paying attention to.”
Asked at Thursday's media conference, why the community transmitted case was concerning health officials so much, Henry said it's because they haven't been able to trace the source, as of yet.
"She hasn't travelled. Where did she pick it up? It's likely at least one other person is out there who has (COVID-19) and we need to track them down."
The last new case lives in the VCH region, which includes Richmond.
All of the new cases are in self-isolation at home.
By Friday around noon, 101,700 people around the world have been confirmed, at some point, as having coronavirus (COVID-19).
The virus has caused 3,461 deaths, mostly in China, where the disease originated late last year.
Of all of those confirmed cases, 56,106 people have recovered.
As well as China, several countries are giving the World Health Organization (WHO) cause for concern, including South Korea, Iran and Italy, where the virus appears to be spreading the fastest.
