(Image Credit: The Canadian Press)

By Simon Little / Global BC

Coronavirus outbreak

B.C. confirms 13th case of COVID-19, woman in her 80s in critical condition

Mar 4, 2020 | 4:33 PM

VANCOUVER — B.C.’s top doctor says the province has identified a 13th case of COVID-19, a woman in her 80s who is in hospital in critical condition.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the woman had recently travelled to both India and Hong Kong, and was now in the ICU at Vancouver General Hospital.

“The hospital, of course, has been preparing for this and has taken all precautions to ensure that everybody in the hospital, the health care workers, the visitors and the other patients are safe and being protected,” said Henry.

The update comes after health officials staged two press conferences on Tuesday announcing four new confirmed cases of the virus, all of them involving travellers from Iran or their close contacts.

Four of the people diagnosed with COVID-19 so far have fully recovered.

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All of the known cases to this point involved people who had travelled to China or Iran, or their close contacts.

B.C. health officials have said that their focus remains on containing the virus, but have acknowledged that they are preparing for a full-blown pandemic, given the rapid spread of COVID-19 to countries around the world.

Officials say B.C. is also closely monitoring the situation in Washington state, where 10 people have died and at least 39 cases have been reported clustered around the Seattle area.

Washington state researchers say the virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks in the community.