Canada Confirms 4th Coronavirus Variant Case

Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, stated on December 27, 2020, announcing the first confirmed case of a person in B.C. infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus variant first identified in the United Kingdom:

“The individual, who resides in the Island Health region, returned to B.C. from the U.K. on flight AC855 on Dec. 15, 2020. Testing confirmed the positive diagnosis on Dec. 19, 2020; a small number of close contacts have been isolated, and public health follows them daily.

“The BC Centre detected the variant strain for Disease Control (BCCDC) Public Health Laboratory in its review of all isolates from people who had recently returned from travel to the U.K. Whole genome sequencing at the BCCDC identified this as the same as the variant seen in the U.K. Ongoing review might identify additional cases in the coming days.

“It is important to note there is no evidence that the new coronavirus variant is more likely to cause severe illness, nor is there evidence to suggest the Health Canada-approved vaccines will be any less effective against the new variant."

The Government of Canada continues to advise against non-essential travel to other countries and advise extra caution if you must travel to the UK or South Africa. Restrictions are changing quickly and may be imposed by countries with little warning, disrupting travel plans.