VICTORIA -- Health officials in B.C. have announced eight new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 21.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says that four of the eight new cases are people who have close household contact to previously announced COVID-19 patients, and that the jump in cases is not unexpected.
Meanwhile, one of the cases involves a Seattle resident who is visiting family in B.C.
One of the other eight new cases is a woman who was discovered through the province’s ongoing influenza testing. Health officials are trying to determine what the source of the woman’s infection is, as she has not been in close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 and has not recently travelled.
The remaining two of the eight new cases involve people who recently returned from Iran, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s who live in the same household.
Health officials say that 13 of the 21 cases of COVID-19 in the province are linked to people who recently travelled to Iran.
With files from the Canadian Press.
