China coronavirus: Vancouver announces first case, a man who travelled to Wuhan
- Patient in his 40s ‘regularly travels to China for his work and was in Wuhan city on his most recent trip’, health official says
- China’s embassy is telling people in Canada to wear face masks in crowds and curtail gatherings, advice exceeding that of local authorities
Authorities in British Columbia announced the western Canadian province’s first infection of the Wuhan coronavirus and the nation’s third apparent case, in a man who recently returned from China.
Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry announced the infection on Tuesday morning. The patient is Vancouver-area resident in his 40s, who is now “doing well” in home isolation and is not hospitalised, she said.
“He regularly travels to China for his work and was in Wuhan city on his most recent trip,” Henry said. “He returned to Vancouver last week and had the onset of symptoms after his return.”
Canada has recorded one other confirmed and one presumptive case of the infection, a husband and wife who had recently returned to Toronto from Wuhan.
The announcement came on the same morning that China’s embassy in Canada started telling people to wear face masks in crowds and to curtail gatherings, to avoid spreading the coronavirus – advice that far exceeds that offered by local Canadian authorities.