Coronavirus: Canada’s first case of community infection announced in British Columbia

Woman had no recent travel history and no known contact with any other patients

Province has reported 21 infections, four of whom had been in contact with a man who had recently travelled from Iran

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The new infections in British Columbia were reported by the province’s health minister Adrian Dix and health officer Dr Bonnie Henry. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:55am, 6 Mar 2020Updated: 9:03pm, 25 Nov 2020

Canada has suffered its first case of community infection of Covid-19 – the disease caused by the new coronavirus – involving a woman in British Columbia who had not recently travelled and had no known contact with another identified patient.

The woman was among eight new patients in the province announced by its health minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry on Thursday afternoon.

Also among the cases was the first known case in Canada involving a visitor from the US. That patient was a woman who had travelled from Washington state, which is emerging as a new hotspot for the disease.

There have been a total of 21 infections announced in British Columbia. Among those reported on Thursday, four had been in contact with a man in his 60s who had recently travelled from Iran.

The eight new cases are technically described as presumptive-positive, because formal confirmation requires a second test at a national lab. But the province’s previous presumptive cases have all been confirmed.