British Columbia is winning the coronavirus fight. Did it get lucky with weather, holidays and a shrewd Chinese community?
- Virologist Jason Kindrachuk ‘absolutely’ believes BC’s Chinese community may have suppressed Covid-19 by adopting physical distancing long ahead of others
- BC has reduced its daily rate of new infections to about 3 per cent, far below the 9 per cent rate in Quebec and Ontario
British Columbia has produced Covid-19 curve-flattening results that are the envy of Canada’s major population centres of Ontario and Quebec, thanks to the western province’s lower rates of infection, hospitalisation and death.
Random factors specific to BC could have helped beat back the disease, experts say: a large Chinese community that was practising physical distancing long before authorities suggested it, warmer weather, and even the timing of the province’s spring break.
BC’s rate of new cases of the disease, measured against the previous day’s cumulative total, has been about 5 per cent or less for the past week, dipping to 3 per cent on Monday.
That compares favourably to Quebec, where the rate is also falling but was around 9 per cent on Tuesday. Ontario’s rate was also 9 per cent on Monday.
Virologist Dr Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in new and re-emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, attributed BC’s “phenomenal” results to the earliness of its implementation of anti-pandemic measures, strong messaging about physical distancing, and rigorous pursuit of community transmission flare-ups.