New data shows COVID-19 in BC largely came from European outbreaks; Anti racism rally to be held at Maffeo Sutton Park on Friday
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📷 Health Minister Adrian Dix and Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provide an update on COVID-19 on June 4, 2020 / via Province of British Columbia
New numbers on COVID-19 show there have been no new deaths from the virus in BC over the past 24 hours. There are nine new cases, three of which are in the Island Health Region, bringing our total to 130. But the three cases here are different from the ones reported in the past. These new cases are called epi-linked cases. These are people who caught the virus from an officially confirmed test positive case. The epi-linked cases were not confirmed at the time. So the three new cases in Island Health are people who have already recovered from the virus but were never on the official case count until now. The Provincial Health Officer says there will be more epi-linked cases added to the case numbers in BC going forward. Dr. Bonnie Henry says that is why, despite there being no officially active cases in our health region, there are people who have the virus.
Other new data show where the various strains of COVID-19 in BC have come from. Surprisingly, there were very few cases that actually came from outbreaks in China, while the majority has come from European outbreaks. Dr. Henry says probably because the province was on high alert for cases from China at the start of the pandemic, so those travellers were closely monitored and educated to prevent the spread of the virus. She says the European-linked cases were transmitted at a large dental conference held in Vancouver but wasn't detected until after conference delegates returned to their home communities throughout the province and continued to spread it.
A rally is being planned in Nanaimo on Friday, to stand in solidarity with anti-racism protests in the United States and to raise awareness of anti-black racism in Canada. The demonstration begins at 3 p.m. Friday at Maffeo Sutton Park. Organizers say it's an opportunity for black people to speak through stories, poetry and song about their experiences and for the wider community to hear about them. Demonstrators are being asked to keep a safe physical distance from one another, to wear a mask, wash their hands before attending and know there will be no washroom facilities on site.
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Written and reported by Lisa Cordasco, News Director for CHLY 101.7FM.
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