British Columbia identifies 2 new cases of novel coronavirus, bringing total to 4

British Columbia has two more presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the province to four.

Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the two new cases are related to the case announced earlier this week.

“Further investigation within that household has identified that two people, who are both visitors from Hubei province, were in contact with the individual who was the case that we announced on Tuesday. These two visitors are a man and a woman in their 30s,” Henry said.

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The three individuals are now in isolation at a home in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.

The case announced on Tuesday was a woman in her 50s.

The two new cases still need to be confirmed by a second test at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, but health officials say they expect the tests to return positive.

Henry says officials will continue to be in contact with the individuals to ensure they remain in isolation.

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“We work on this all the time. There are a number of different reportable diseases that require people to take action all the time,” Henry said

“We have daily ongoing contact with them. Sometimes the contact will be in person and sometimes it will be over the phone.”

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Both Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix called for tolerance and inclusion.

“We need to all be cognizant we are all vulnerable as a global community,” Henry said.

“We have been hearing some very disturbing reference to Chinese communities. This is a time where we all need to work together and be supportive of each other. This virus knows no boundaries. If we ostracize people it makes it much harder to do our job in public health.”

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Dix says the most important thing someone can do to prevent the spread of all respiratory illnesses, including this novel coronavirus, is to clean their hands regularly and avoid touching their face. People should also cough or sneeze into their elbow sleeve, dispose of tissues appropriately, and stay away from others if they become sick.

“If you are sick, stay home from work. If you are sick, stay home from school,” Dix said.

“We want people to feel they can report when they are sick. We want people to feel their privacy is protected.”