Dr. Henry calls increasing COVID-19 cases in U.S. 'very concerning'

Photo: BC gov. Flickr

Dr. Bonnie Henry

As new daily number of cases of COVID-19 remain low in British Columbia, Dr. Bonnie Henry remains “very concerned” about the virus situation in the United States.

During Tuesday's press conference, Dr. Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, said hospitalizations in a number of U.S. States, particularly in several larger southern states, are rapidly rising. Currently, the U.S.-Canada border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least July 21, but B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said Tuesday that he expects the closure will remain in place “for some time.”

“People are still transmitting widely in the community and so that's a risk to us,” Dr. Henry said.

Tuesday, Washington governor Jay Inslee issued an order that anyone outside of their home must wear a face mask as of Friday, as infections in the state rise. But Dr. Henry said the closure of the border to non-essential travel should keep British Columbians safe from the outbreaks down south.

“We do know that we have people, particularly truckers, who are going back and forth with essential goods across the border, but we have had that for some time, and there is a process in place that they need to follow,” she said.

She noted there have been cases of truckers returning to Canada with COVID-19, but the cases were caught early and did not spread to the community.

Canadian residents who return to Canada from any international travel are required to quarantine for 14 days under a federal order. Dr. Henry said this order is in place to limit the number of introductions of the virus into the “fragile balance” here in B.C.

After an outbreak of the virus was identified amongst of group of temporary foreign workers at West Kelowna's Bylands Nurseries in April, the province introduced measures that saw new workers entering Canada quarantined at a hotel in Vancouver, before carrying on to their respective farms across B.C. Since then, 27 temporary foreign workers in quarantine have been diagnosed with the virus, but due to the measures in place, it was not spread to others.

“The fact that we have isolated temporary foreign workers when they come, separate from the farm, has made an enormous difference,” Dix said.

“Other jurisdictions in Canada have had hundreds of workers sick, where those measures haven't been taken.”

On Tuesday, 13 new cases of the virus were announced, along with a single new death in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.