Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announcing Vancouver Island has it's first presumptive case of COVID-19. (CBC)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

FIRST CONFIRMED CASE

First presumptive case of COVID-19 confirmed on Vancouver Island

Mar 11, 2020 | 8:42 AM

NANAIMO — Vancouver Island has its first case of COVID-19.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, made the announcement at a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.

A man in his 60’s was travelling in Egypt with several people confirmed to have COVID-19. Dr. Henry said the Vancouver Island case is presumptive but expected to be confirmed shortly by the BC CDC.

Dr. Henry did not confirm where the man lives on Vancouver Island.

This was one of seven new cases of COVID-19 announced on Wednesday. This brings the total number of cases in B.C. to 46 and over 100 across Canada.

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Fears about COVID-19 have forced the cancellation of many large events.

Both the world figure skating and women’s world hockey championships happening across Canada were cancelled.

Many sporting events are now being held without fans in attendance. All NCAA March Madness games will be played to empty arenas. Similar precautions are also happening in major leagues like the NBA and NHL on a team-by-team basis.

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