Two new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Metro Vancouver, marking the third and fourth patients in British Columbia.
The two presumptive positives are linked to a previous case announced Tuesday, Feb. 4 involving a woman in her 50s who was thought to have contracted the virus after coming in contact with family members visiting from Hubei province in China, the epicentre of the virus.
The latest patients include a man and woman in their 30s. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said one of the cases, a young man, is likely the source of Tuesday’s presumptive positive case.
For the presumptive positives to be confirmed, the positive results from a lab at the BC Centre for Disease Control must be duplicated at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Everyone in the family is self-isolated and their health is being closely monitored by health care workers, according Dr. Henry.
“Nobody wants to be transmitting infections to others,” she said, noting the family has fully cooperated with health care workers.
The announcement came as about 250 Canadians were en route to Vancouver aboard an aircraft charted by the Canadian government. The passengers, who had been trapped in an unprecedented quarantine zone centred around the city of Wuhan, are being transported to an airforce base in Trenton, Ont., where they will spend 14 days in quarantine before being allowed to return home.
In Japan, another 251 Canadians were among 3,700 people aboard a cruise ship earlier this week when the entire vessel was put into quarantine at a port in Yokohama, Japan.
So far, two Canadians have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and were taken ashore to be treated in a Japanese hospital, said Dr. Henry.
She also warned the public to be cautious when booking cruises and make sure any potential cruise ship avoids ports of call in China since the Canadian government has recommended avoiding all non-essential travel to the country.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the new coronavirus makes flu-season precautions all the more important.
“If you’re sick, stay home from work. If you’re sick, stay home from school,” Dix said.
But Dr. Henry also put out a call to British Columbians to avoid ostracizing people when they’re sick.
“We all need to be cognizant that we’re all vulnerable as a global community,” she said, adding that health officials have heard reports that Chinese communities have felt increasingly discriminated against as the disease spreads.
“It’s a time when we need to work together, when we need to support each other,” she said.
—With files from The Canadian Press
