Wednesday February 19, 2020 ~ VICTORIA, BC
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
All five instances of COVID-19 (coronavirus) infection in BC are all positive for recovery. This was the opening news from BC Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr Bonnie Henry today February 19.
She said that the first case has fully recovered as of this past weekend, with the patient showing negative test results for the virus. “He is considered cured and is no long required to be in isolation,” said Dr Henry. She added that the second, third and fourth cases are now “all asymptomatic” and “all positive for recovery”.
All five people (who had been in China and showed symptoms after arriving back in BC) were stable and have been in isolation at home. “They have been monitored very closely by public health,” Dr Henry said.
This was Dr Henry’s weekly PHO news conference, which for several weeks has focussed on the coronavirus situation which is centered in China but global in impact.
More aspects of the new disease are being learned as public health officials go along. Dr Henry said that after reading reports from the World Health Organization that the Chinese data shows more deaths in older people, with the highest rate of death in persons over age 80. Older people have less robust immune systems and anyone with underlying illness – diabetes, heart disease and lung conditions — are additionally at risk.
There are few reports of young people contracting the illness, which could also include however that they show mild to no symptoms even if contracting the virus. This could be a way for the virus to spread, without people realizing they are infected or causing infection.
The high number of people who acquired the COVID-19 virus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship harboured in Japan (including 47 Canadians as of today February 19) are now thought to have contracted it under ‘incubator-like’ circumstances. Many people have been confined to one small area. Dr Henry says the 14-day quarantine on the ship “was not an effective method” to contain spread of the virus.
Dr Henry proposes that the virus was spread in particular by crew on the Diamond Princess, who were sleeping on the ship in close quarters in bunks. Crew were delivering meals to ship guests in their cabins, which could have easily spread the virus which travels in droplets that require moisture and can survive on objects. The droplets are ‘heavy’ and are not easily transmitted through the air unless people are in close proximity (two to three meters), and when the droplets are carried in the moisture of coughs and sneezes.
There are now 75,204 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (February 19, 2020, WHO report at 7 am Pacific Time). Of those, 924 cases are outside of China (in 25 countries; 3 deaths).
People in BC and across Canada are reminded to wash their hands, cover your cough or sneeze, and stay home if you’re not feeling well. People in BC who have been tested as negative for COVID-19 are in many cases showing other types of influenza infection in their test results.
“Right now we’re not seeing transmission in community, so I don’t feel we need to be cancelling (public) events,” said Dr Henry today. “But if you’re not feeling well don’t go (out to events), and stay home to take care of yourself and protect your family.”