Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in British Columbia:

“Today, we are announcing a new case of COVID-19 in British Columbia. A woman in her 30s is presumed positive based on local testing, and samples have been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg, Man., for final confirmation. She resides in the Fraser Health region and recently returned from Iran.

“Fraser Health is actively investigating. The patient’s close contacts will be identified and contacted by public-health officials. The patient is in isolation at home.

“This brings the total number of cases in B.C. to six. One is presumed positive, with four confirmed positive by the NML. They remain in self-isolation and under care by public-health teams. The first case has recovered, as indicated by the resolution of symptoms, followed by two successive negative test results 24 hours apart.

“The risk of this virus spreading within British Columbia remains low at this time. We are closely monitoring the situation in Canada and abroad. We will notify the public if the measures in B.C. change.

“We continue to recommend that everyone take the same important measures to help protect from respiratory illnesses at this time of year."

Learn More:

For recommendations on protecting yourself and your community, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/BG_Coronavirus_Recommendations_Feb19.pdf

For more information and latest updates on COVID-19, follow the BC Centre for Disease Control on Twitter @CDCofBC or visit the website: http://www.bccdc.ca/