Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says one new COVID-19 variant was discovered within B.C. (flickr/Gov't of B.C.)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

covid-19 update

COVID-19 variant threat eases in B.C. as other provinces grapple with high numbers

Feb 12, 2021 | 4:29 PM

NANAIMO — Public health officials aren’t seeing the widespread transmission of two COVID-19 variants throughout B.C.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Friday, Feb. 12 said three cases of the variant were found in roughly 3,100 positive tests in the first week of February. So far, 46 cases of variants have been discovered.

“This tells us we don’t have high levels of transmission in our communities. But we still need to be cautious and monitor.”

She said Alberta and hotspots in Ontario are grappling with more considerable numbers of the variants and could bring it to B.C.

One case of a new variant from Nigeria was confirmed on Friday.

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Dr. Henry announced 445 new COVID-19 cases across B.C., which is inline with recent trends. There’s currently 226 people in hospital and 61 receiving critical care.

The number of lives lost to COVID-19 climbed by 10, mostly seniors in long-term care homes.

Within Island Health, 11 new COVID-19 cases were found. This is significantly lower than the recent average in the mid-20’s. However, BC CDC data showed the number of tests done in Island Health dropped to 901 from nearly 1,200 the day before.

There is a data discrepancy between Island Health and the province, based on the timing of COVID-19 results. NanaimoNewsNOW reports local verified data from Island Health.

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